Global Custodian is pleased to reveal the shortlist for its Leaders in Custody Asia Awards 2026, with the ceremony set to take place in Singapore on 28 May this year.
The awards once again bring together the standout performers from across Asia Pacific, recognising excellence in the agent banks surveys alongside a broad mix of Editors’ Choice, innovation and individual honours.
The survey awards continue to highlight the top-performing multi-market providers and leading agent banks in individual markets, based on feedback from network managers, asset managers and global custodians.
As ever, the results reflect performance across a diverse regional landscape, spanning major, emerging and frontier markets.
Deutsche Bank leads the way this year with an impressive 13 nominations, with BNP Paribas close behind on 11 and HSBC on 10. Mizuho and Standard Chartered Bank have each secured eight nominations.
Further down the shortlist, Northern Trust features six times, while MUFG, DBS and State Street each appear four times. ICBC and Citi also record multiple nominations, alongside BNY, JP Morgan and Euroclear.
You can still nominate for our Innovation Awards via this link. Meanwhile, we have also opened up submissions for our Individual Awards for the first time – you can nominate by clicking here.
Should you wish to attend the awards, please contact daljit.sokhi@globalcustodian.com. For survey related awards questions contact beenish.hussain@globalcustodian.com and for Editors’ Choice, or any editorial-related queries, contact jon.watkins@globalcustodian.com.
The full shortlist can be found below. Congratulations to all those nominated.
Agent Banks of the Year
Major Markets
- DBS
- Mizuho Bank
- MUFG
Emerging Markets
- BNP Paribas
- Deutsche Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
Frontier Markets
- Deutsche Bank
- HSBC
- Standard Chartered Bank
Overall
- BNP Paribas
- Deutsche Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
Best in Class: Global
Account Management
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
- Standard Chartered Bank (Malaysia)
Asset Safety and Risk Management
- BNP Paribas (India)
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
Asset Servicing
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- ICBC (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
Client Service
- BNP Paribas (India)
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
Relationship Management
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
- MUFG (Japan)
Technology
- BNP Paribas (India)
- Deutsche Bank (China)
- Mizuho Bank (Japan)
As Voted For By…
Network Managers
- BNP Paribas
- Deutsche Bank
- UBS
Asset Managers
- BNP Paribas
- Deutsche Bank
- ICBC
Global Custodians
- DBS
- Deutsche Bank
- HSBC
Best Custodian In…
China
- Deutsche Bank
- ICBC
- Standard Chartered Bank
Hong Kong
- DBS
- Deutsche Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
India
- BNP Paribas
- Deutsche Bank
- Nuvama Asset Services
Japan
- Mizuho Bank
- MUFG
Singapore
- DBS
- Deutsche Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
Fund Services
Fund Administrator of the Year
- Apex Group
- Citco
- Precision Fund Services
ETF Administrator of the Year
- Citi
- HSBC
- State Street
Editors’ Choice
Global Custodian of the Year
- BNP Paribas
- BNY
- Citi
- JP Morgan
- State Street
Custody Deal of the Year
- Citi – U.S. Bank
- HSBC – Jio BlackRock Asset Management
- JP Morgan – Income Insurance Limited
- MUFG – U.S. Bank
Fund Services Deal of the Year
- BNP Paribas – Maybank Asset Management Singapore
- Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) – ICBC UBS Asset Management
- HSBC – BlackRock Taiwan ETFs
- Northern Trust – Avanda Investment Management
Asset Servicing Partnership of the Year
- Clearstream – ICBC
- Euroclear – Marketnode
- State Street – Daiwa
Asset Servicing Deal of the Year (Australia)
- BNP Paribas – Medibank
- HSBC – Allianz Australia
- Northern Trust – Generation Life
Data & Analytics Deal of the Year
- BNP Paribas – UniSuper
- BNY – GPIF
Fintech of the Year
- Chainlink
- MarketNode
- Proxymity
- Zodia
Digital Asset / DLT Initiative of the Year
- Euroclear – Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI)
- HSBC Orion
- Northern Trust – Cross-border trading of digital carbon credits
- UBS, Chainlink & DigiFT – Automation of tokenised fund operations
Excellence in Digital Asset Innovation
- Chainlink
- HSBC
- Northern Trust
- Standard Chartered Bank
Market Infrastructure Project of the Year
- Clearstream / Euroclear – Offshore Chinese government bonds collateral initiative
- Euroclear – Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI)
- HKEX – Bond Connect Securities Collateral
Asset Servicing Project One to Watch
- Euroclear / Marketnode – End-to-end fund order and processing solution
- Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem
- OCBC Securities Lending
Outstanding Achievement / Special Recognition
- HSBC Orion
- Northern Trust – Carbon Credits and Tokenisation Initiatives
- Proxymity – Australia Proxy Voting Transformation
- State Street – Mizuho Acquisition
Facts Only
The Global Custodian Leaders in Custody Asia Awards 2026 ceremony is set to take place on May 28 in Singapore.
Deutsche Bank leads with 13 nominations, followed by BNP Paribas (11) and HSBC (10). Mizuho and Standard Chartered Bank have each secured eight nominations.
Other institutions on the shortlist include Northern Trust, MUFG, DBS, State Street, ICBC, Citi, BNY, JP Morgan, and Euroclear.
Nominations for Innovation Awards are still open via a provided link, and individual awards submissions have been opened up for the first time.
Executive Summary
The Global Custodian Leaders in Custody Asia Awards 2026 shortlist has been announced, with the ceremony scheduled for May 28 in Singapore. The awards recognize excellence among Asia Pacific's agent banks and providers in various categories, such as account management, asset safety and risk management, client service, and relationship management. Deutsche Bank leads with 13 nominations, followed by BNP Paribas and HSBC with 11 and 10 nominations respectively.
The shortlist also includes several other notable financial institutions like Mizuho, Standard Chartered Bank, Northern Trust, MUFG, ICBC, Citi, BNY, JP Morgan, and Euroclear. Nominations are still open for Innovation Awards via a provided link, and individual awards submissions have been opened up for the first time.
Full Take
In analyzing this article, it is important to consider the context of the financial industry in Asia, where competition among leading banks like Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and others is fierce. The Global Custodian Leaders in Custody Awards provide a platform for recognizing excellence in various aspects of custody services, with categories focusing on account management, asset safety, client service, technology, and more.
The fact that Deutsche Bank leads with the most nominations this year may indicate strong performance across multiple categories, but it is also worth noting that the awards are based on feedback from network managers, asset managers, and global custodians. Therefore, other factors beyond just raw numbers could influence the final outcome.
Finally, it is interesting to see that submissions for individual awards have been opened up for the first time this year, indicating a potential shift towards recognizing individual contributions within institutions. This could reflect an increased emphasis on personal achievement and innovation in the industry.