The Association of Global Custodians (AGC) has published the findings of its annual Depository Information-Gathering Project (DIGP).
The project aims to help AGC members meet regulatory compliance requirements under Investment Company Act Rule 17f-7, which outlines how US mutual funds can hold securities through foreign depositories. In 2023, the DIGP questionnaire was sent to 165 depositories in more than 100 jurisdictions.
The DIGP questionnaire was available independently and through the World Forum of CSDs’ Single Disclosure tool, which includes questions related to the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures alongside DIGP questions.
Deborah Mercer-Miller, chair of the AGC and director at Citibank, says: “This year’s DIGP represents the 23rd consecutive year of DIGP reporting. This centralised project
continues to allow AGC members to sustain sound working relationships with representatives of depositories and depository associations.
“These continued interactions complement and strengthen the work of individual member banks’ due diligence teams, enabling coordination with key professionals across the securities depository community.”
Aditee Taskar, chair of the 2022-2023 DIGP Committee and regional head of network management at HSBC, adds: “DIGP serves the association’s members by systematically gathering current and important information from securities depositories regarding risk and operational issues and housing the information in one central location.
“It also provides a platform for those securities depositories to communicate vital up-to-date information to the Association’s member banks. These capabilities enable members to deliver up-to-date risk analysis to their investor clients.”
