It could be said that CSDs have under-communicated what they do given their position in the financial ecosystem, especially when you consider that their access to market data puts them in a favourable position to develop additional services. This is a topic Kristine Bastøe, CEO of Euronext Securities Oslo and head of Euronext Securities Services, will be addressing at a session entitled “How CSDs seek to diversify and expand their service portfolios” at the upcoming PostTrade 360° 2025 conference.
‘The line-up for this session should drive us into an interesting discussion around competition,” she says. “It’s a different playing field in terms of ancillary or non-core services because there we compete with the rest of the world, so to speak, so I expect us to focus on the strengths we have in the CSD space compared to non-regulated entities offering similar services.”
There is no obvious limitation on the ancillary services CSDs could provide in addition to their core offerings. Considerations from a Euronext perspective include the ease of developing useful solutions with a strong value proposition that leverages available data and the potential client base as well.
“There is nothing in particular happening now that places more emphasis or focus on this part of the business,” says Bastøe. “The trigger point as I see it is the push for more cross-border activities and simplifying the European post-trade industry, providing added value services that simplify this activity for investors and issuers.”
More to offer
She expects attendees to leave the session with increased awareness of what CSDs can offer and hopes to tap into greater interest in specific services.
“One area where we are seeing a lot of interest is tax,” says Bastøe. “For most people, the starting point is that tax is complex – but it is one of the areas that will develop most quickly over the next few years, so a better understanding of the services available in this space could be very valuable.”
