BELGIUM- The Bank of New York’s Luxembourg subsidiary has opened a depository bank in Belgium that will enable it to offer custody and administration services to Belgium-domiciled collective investment undertakings (UCIs).

BoNY already has operations in Brussels, Dublin, London and Luxembourg but the regulatory structure requires a local depository bank to service Belgium-domiciled funds.

“In response to our clients’ growing need for pan-European fund administration services, we have made the strategic decision for the Bank of New York (Luxembourg) to establish a branch in Brussels,” says Jeffrey Tessler, chief operating officer for Europe.

Belgium’s mutual fund business is one of Europe’s more developed and this, according to a spokesman for the bank, was one of the reasons for the launch. “It’s where we see the primary demand for onshore administration and it’s our primary focus,” he says.

BoNY believes there will at some stage be a requirement for a complete pan European onshore service and the launch in Belgium is a step towards servicing this. It already has a 50/50 joint venture with AIB in Dublin and last year took a 4.9% share in Kas in the Netherlands.

The spokesman said the Netherlands is another area of interest but that a new office there is not imminent. Instead the bank’s expansion through Europe will through partnerships with other providers.

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