On 22nd June, Crédit Agricole, CACEIS’ majority shareholder, published Ambitions 2025, its new Medium-Term Plan for the next three years. CACEIS is fully in line with this plan, with a strategy based on strong organic growth potential and stepping up its digital transformation.
The asset servicing sector is changing fast: the development of crypto-currencies and crypto-assets, the search for greater profitability in the face of factors such as declining revenues, FinTechs bringing new services, middle-office outsourcing and the increasing pace of digital uptake. Traditional players are being forced to rethink their offer, and provide new value-added services across the entire value chain.
In keeping with Crédit Agricole's Ambitions 2025 Plan, CACEIS is launching its own Medium-Term Plan (MTP) with clear objectives to confront the challenges facing the sector.
“Our ambitions are based principally on accelerating our technological, digital and human development. The group is allocating the necessary resources to maintain the significant level of investment and underpin our growth in order to better serve our clients, across all locations”, said Pierre Cimino, Global Head – Development and Strategy at CACEIS.
CACEIS’ strategy as set out in the MTP rests on three pillars: organic growth, operational efficiency, and external growth.
Consequently, in addition to development of the core business areas, CACEIS will strengthen the service offer in the following high-potential segments:
- Fund distribution/execution: CACEIS intends to extend the partnership with Fund Channel through a jointly-constructed offer, combining CACEIS' existing fund execution and custody services with Fund Channel's cutting-edge expertise in distribution platform services.
- Outsourcing of middle-office services: to meet market expectations, CACEIS intends to strengthen its middle-office outsourcing offer, in particular through the partnership with Amundi, leveraging an integrated Front-to-Back offer based on the ALTO service platform, developed by Amundi and fully connected to CACEIS' operational infrastructure.
- ETFs: to respond to this fast-growing market, CACEIS plans to invest in order to enhance its offer with a cutting-edge technological TEEPI ETF-based platform.
- Pension funds: CACEIS has recognised expertise in this segment since it acquired KAS Bank in the Netherlands. The Group aims to be the market leader in Europe with a ‘One-Stop Shop’ model covering the entire range of expected services.
- Private equity and real estate funds: A recognised pan-European leader in this segment, CACEIS intends to strengthen this leadership by rolling out new services and winning new markets, particularly in Asia.
The aspirations of CACEIS’ MTP will be underpinned by strategic developments and by accelerating process digitalisation to improve connectivity for clients. "In particular, we want to strengthen the CACEIS Connect Store and become an aggregator of the best solutions on the market through partnerships with FinTechs", Pierre Cimino explained. Similarly, CACEIS intends to be present in the digital asset sector and is currently designing a secure custody and issuance offer for digital assets.
In addition, "CACEIS wishes to become a responsible and sustainable partner of choice, by assisting clients with risk management and the integration of ESG principles into their development strategies”, stated Pierre Cimino. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ESG principles will be integrated throughout the value chain, in all business sectors and at all levels of CACEIS.
Improving operational efficiency is one of the pillars of CACEIS' MTP. This will be achieved through funding from revenue growth and the continuation of the group transformation plan, which includes in particular the continuation of centres of expertise development strategy.This plan will thus support the implementation of the MTP by giving CACEIS leeway for its investments and by contributing to a better quality of services delivered to clients in a structure and environment that are more rewarding for our staff. External growth also remains a key consideration in CACEIS’ expansion in all of its locations that are not yet of critical size. “As with the external growth operations carried out with KAS Bank and Santander in 2019, we intend to pursue a strategy of targeted acquisitions and new partnerships according to market opportunities”, Pierre Cimino confirmed.
CACEIS' 2025 strategy is perfectly aligned with current trends in the asset servicing market. The Medium-Term Plan is an ambitious growth project in terms of development, results and profitability, which will strengthen CACEIS' financials and leadership position. It benefits fully from the support of our two shareholders, Crédit Agricole and the Banco Santander.
