In a press release from 22 February, Spuerkeess announced that Euroclear’s funds platform would manage “the lion’s share” of the bank’s fund portfolio. The bank has opted to move away from transfer agents, the statement said, in favour of a centralised platform--Euroclear FundsPlace--for the distribution and execution services of its funds. The platform will also collect trailer fees on external custodians.

“[Euroclear’s] fully integrated model from subscription, execution, settlement, custody and trailer fee collection allows Spuerkeess to reduce its costs and operational risks,” said Aly Kohll, deputy CEO and executive committee member at Spuerkeess, “and ultimately to offer an even better service to its retail and institutional clients.”

“Our FundsPlace offering enables [our clients] to achieve greater scalability, risk reduction, asset protection and revenue optimisation,” said Valérie Urbain, chief business officer at Euroclear.

Euroclear provides the settlement and custody of both domestic and cross-border securities for bonds, equities and derivatives and investment funds. It has over 2,000 clients worldwide, for whom it holds some €37.6trn in assets in custody.

Spuerkeess, the state-owned bank of Luxembourg, has over 1,800 employees (and was named “the ideal employer” last year). Its statutory missions include promoting savings, facilitating access to housing and supporting the development of the national economy.