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AFTI’s Custody Group kept up an intense pace throughout 2009, making an active contribution to all the main marketwide projects, including the first stage in efforts with the AMF to overhaul custody specifications to reflect amendments in securities law at European level.

Ongoing European harmonisation was another major theme of the year, and was addressed through consultations (T2S Process Efficiency Sub Group, T2S Corporate Action Sub Group, UCITS IV Level 2 impacts) and within work by the Market Implementation Sub-Group (MIG), which, for instance, took part in validating corporate action standards and carried out an initial analyses of differences with the existing framework.

The first round of research in this area has already been launched (study on harmonising reorganisation dates) or published (study on harmonising distribution dates).

Meanwhile, the sub-group was asked for input on validating standards for general meetings, which led it to dialogue regularly with AFTI’s Issuers Group. And the Custody Group again showed its openness to working with other AFTI groups.

For example, it took part in the Cross-Disciplinary Group (formerly the Madoff Group), in drafting the Charter for Fund Transfer Agents (Stocks and Flows Group), the Code of Best Practice for Transfer Agents Processing Corporate Actions and played a part in various presentations (project on pre-meeting online voting systems, impact on account providers of new auditor standards relating to fund depositaries, etc.).

A number of briefing sessions were also held with market infrastructure providers (Nyse Euronext, Euroclear France) and information providers (Six Telekurs – launch of study on the impact of the SP project on information flows).

The Tax Monitoring Unit continued to analyse current developments.

On several occasions, it alerted the competent authorities to the impact of proposed reforms to post-trade activities.

On 8 April, the Custody Group also organised an AFTI conference on European harmonisation of corporate actions processing.

The Group is looking ahead to an equally busy year in 2010, as it pursues efforts begun in 2009 on the issue of international asset custody and gets to work on the implementation of European corporate action standards.