AMEAOKA CONSULTING
After 26 years’ experience in custody (securities) services, Augustine Kwakye-Agyekum retired in 2020 and established AMEAOKA Consulting. During the period, he held various Africa regional positions with international institutions like Rand Merchant Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Barclays Bank Plc and Standard Bank of South Africa.
AMEAOKA Consulting strive to serve players in the Africa securities services industry such as custodian banks, stock exchanges, regulators, investors (pension funds, etc), with an aim of making the continent’s custody offering competitive globally.
Augustine has consulted for HFC Bank Ghana (now called Republic Bank Ghana) where he set up the Bank’s custody services. The Bank is one of the leading custodian banks in Ghana. Also, he has reviewed the operations of Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe’s custody services, during which he offered training on various areas of custody services.
We partner with our clients and leave them with an indelible customer service experience.
Services
Custody Services
Provide support to institutions wanting to set up custody services. This includes strategy setting, training, recruitment of staff, writing of procedure manuals, system choice, etc.
Expansion of Custody Services
New market development: investigate market viability, entry requirements including licensing, etc.
Client Retention
Client Relationship Management, including Client Services
Review of Existing Custody Services
Review existing custody operations and provide guidance on service improvement.
Client Acquisition
Client focus: strategy for client acquisition, which includes responding to RFP, client relationship management, etc.
Selection of a Custody System
In collaboration with Sectech Limited
Why use a Custodian?
By use of a custodian, investors outsource their operational risk to the custodian through (examples):
- Trade settlement – on behalf of its clients (i.e. investors), the custodian provides trade matching and clearing services to ensure that parties to a trade are in a position to either deliver securities or pay cash to the counterparty on settlement date;
- Protection of investors’ assets – the custodian ensures protection of its clients’ assets by:
- Separation of the custodian’s proprietary assets from those of its clients by holding the assets of its clients in a nominee name. The clients’ assets are, therefore, off balance sheet item in the custodian’s books;
- In a market where nominee concept is not recognised, the custodian would hold its clients’ assets in the clients’ own names, and are administered through a Power of Attorney;
- Asset Servicing – among the services the custodian offers its clients are:
- Provision of timely information to its clients on all corporate events, more importantly on voluntary events like rights issue, to allow the clients to make informed decision;
- Balancing of the custodian’s records to the market’s primary records (at the CSD or the company registrar) to ensure correct entitlements due to its clients;
- Collection of income and/or entitlements and pay or allocate to its clients.
Achievements
Securities Hall of Fame
In 2009, our lead Consultant, Augustine’s contribution to global securities services was recognized by Global Custodian Magazine and admitted him to the “Securities Hall of Fame.”
Global Custodian is the only industry-recognized body for the custody business world wide and this marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first issue.
Augustine, a Ghanaian by birth and a South African by naturalisation, became the first black African to receive this honour.
Contact Us
Get in touch with the Custody Services Experts
Johannesburg, South Africa
+27 (0)78 100 5968
Operating Hours
Monday - Friday
9:00am - 5:30pm (GMT +2)