Citi’s latest “Securities Services Evolution” whitepaper details how the global post-trade industry is poised for further transformation in speed, resilience and the cost of trade processing. Following years of groundwork, market participants are now focused on execution, and the delivery of initiatives to drive heightened efficiencies and innovation.
Citi’s fifth and latest edition of the annual whitepaper polled 537 industry leaders – the largest participation so far in the series – and for the first time includes a perspective on the role of GenAI and views on its adoption. The 537 participants include leaders from financial market infrastructures (FMIs), custodians, banks, broker-dealers, asset managers and institutional investors, and the whitepaper includes qualitative insights from 13 FMIs.
Key findings from the whitepaper include:
Bank-Issued Stablecoins as a Key Enabler: 10% of market turnover is expected to be conducted using digital assets and tokenized securities by 2030, with bank-issued stablecoins identified as the main enabler to support collateral efficiency, fund tokenization and private market securities.
Cumulative Workload of Accelerated Settlements: The cumulative workload of T+1 is significant with a historical high in settlement acceleration workload. A majority 76% are actively working on T+1 initiatives in 2025. 48% of respondents are still running projects to optimize their internal processes for North American T+1 settlements.
Automation is critical to T+1 in UK and Europe: As focus on T+1 readiness shifts towards the UK and Europe, automation will be paramount. For both transitions, improved internal operational processes, harmonization of industry and regulatory standards, upgrading or re-platforming legacy technology, and extending operating deadlines and hours for settlement infrastructure were cited as the top enablers.
GenAI Use in Post-Trade Operations: 86% of respondents said their firms are piloting the use of GenAI with client onboarding as the key use case for asset managers, custodians and broker-dealers. 57% indicated that their organizations are piloting the technology for post-trade specifically, and buy-side firms leading the way for GenAI use in the back office. 67% of institutional investors are using GenAI for post-trade reconciliation and reporting, and clearing and settlements, respectively.
Asia Pacific Leads in Digital Asset Adoption: Asia Pacific has led the path of digital asset adoption on the back of extensive retail take up of cryptocurrencies and regulatory efforts to move digital asset projects into deployment.
Chris Cox, Head of Investor Services, Citi, said, “From accelerated settlements to automation in asset servicing, and increased shareholder participation and governance, the collective vision of firms worldwide is converging on the same core themes. The industry is at the cusp of significant change as market participants intensify their focus on T+1, accelerate the adoption of digital assets, and implement GenAI across their operations. At Citi, we are not just observing these shifts. We are actively empowering our clients to seize opportunities and deliver value through the strategic deployment of our digital and data solutions.”
Amit Agarwal, Head of Custody at Citi, added, “The accelerating shift towards digital assets and GenAI are clear signals that clients are future proofing their businesses and operating models. As the whitepaper suggests, custodians are expected to be the largest agents of securities tokenization for network use by 2030, and are well-placed to do so as part of their safekeeping role. As digital and traditional assets converge, Citi is developing innovative capabilities and solutions to address the growing demand for digital asset custody services.”
