Swiss bank Pictet & Cie has once again come out tops on the annual survey of custodian services across pension funds, investment managers and insurers in Europe, undertaken by R & H Consultants.

This is the fourth year Pictet has come on top, but it has been challenged this years by RBS Trust Bank, the UK-based joint venture formed by the former SG Warburg and Royal Bank of Scotland. Northern Trust has seen its ranking on the table move up smartly. The consultants say this reflects the number of clients NT gained in the past 12 months.

They also point out that RBS Trust Bank clients responding to the survey were mainly SG Warburg clients, with the majority of Royal Bank of Scotland still with that bank, but expecting to migrate to the new organisation. The ranking given to RBS by their clients suggests that things can only improve when this occurs."

The middle ground was largely held by the super-league players, but the consultants ask whether mergers are good for clients, with Bank of New York, which took on the custody business of JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley Trust Company, which bought the business of Barclays, both slipping down the table.

But when it comes to the rankings by insurance companies then Citibank is in pole position, Midland Bank in second and Chase Manhattan third, with Morgan Stanley ranked fourth, with banks largely holding their rankings of the previous year. Separating out the responses of investment managers, the top rankings here are Pictet, RBS Trust Bank, Chase Manhattan, Lloyds Bank and Midland Bank.

The consultants say the survey involved 600 questionnaires to a "mainly European" client base, with around 300 returned. Fennell Betson"

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