The client had been encouraged by its brokerage and banking customers to offer domestic and global custody processing service capabilities. The demand for a custody product prompted a feasibility study to assess the requirements necessary to enter and implement this service in the Brokerage Services Division. The project objectives included:
- Develop and document the business requirements for the processing of domestic and global custody accounts.
- Understand the features and benefits clients and prospects would expect from a custody product.
- Survey appropriate systems providers for custody processing applications.
- Compare the requirements of the custody business to the current processing capabilities of the company in order to identify the systems development gap.
LoBue found that the client had the basic processing capability required to provide domestic custody processing. However, in order to meet the competition in the thriving global custody business, they had to address the identified systems “gap” in detail and assess systems modification requirements and associated costs. The client understood that this would be a major endeavor and was encouraged to avoid the tendency to apply temporary patchwork solutions to meet the identified requirements. LoBue recommended that the client pursue a partnership with selected customers willing to extend their knowledge of the international securities marketplace so that they would further understand requirements in order to develop detailed systems specifications.
