BNP Paribas Securities Services, one of the world’s largest asset servicers, says it has reached a milestone in its digital transformation that will help asset managers process data and deliver services.
The custodian bank has released a set of APIs – or application programming interfaces – in its fund administration business.
The 17 fund-accounting APIs, which will automatically update clients’ systems with business-specific information, come at a time when custodians face criticism for not doing enough to help asset managers develop digital solutions.
Information delivered with the APIs includes data sets such as NAV calculations and distribution, and settlement data.
How the bank communicates with its asset manager clients will be transformed, BNP Paribas SS said, with real-time status updates via APIs enhancing operational efficiency and the “client experience”.
Paud O’Keeffe, head of client digital experience at the custodian, said APIs had the potential to “significantly transform” market practices and how asset managers process data and provide services.
Arnaud Claudon, head of asset manager clients, said the APIs would mean clients receive information in real time rather than “wait for files to come through. This will make for better risk controls, better decision-making and will also help improve straight-through processing rates”.
The bank is working with messaging network Swift to standardise APIs so that sharing and use of data is consistent and not prone to misinterpretation.
A Funds Europe and Temenos survey recently found that nearly 25% of asset managers felt asset-servicing firms were not doing enough to help investment managers deliver quality services through digital channels.
Our findings were described as a “wake-up call” for custodians and administrators
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