LONDON, July 16, 2014 – BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has confirmed it has received formal approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide trustee and depositary services to alternative investment funds (AIFs) under the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive (AIFMD).

Following the approval by the FCA of its Variation of Permissions (VoP) application – which was submitted to the regulator earlier this year – BNY Mellon is now authorised as an AIFMD depositary in six European markets: the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

July 22 marks the deadline for European Union alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) looking to market their EU AIFs via the pan-European marketing passport introduced by the Directive to have submitted their application for AIFMD authorisation.

Peter Craft, head of trustee & depositary services for Europe, Middle East & Africa at BNY Mellon, said: "AIFMD has been a major focus for BNY Mellon over the past 18 months and we have been leading the way in driving the compliance effort and ensuring that clients are ready for the July 22 deadline. We are already servicing a number of extremely large global fund managers - who have been approved by the FCA as AIFMs, with BNY Mellon as their nominated depositary - under the terms of the Directive. By the time we hit the July 22 deadline, we will have been able to onboard the vast majority of our 70-plus AIF clients."

Hani Kablawi, EMEA head of Asset Servicing at BNY Mellon, said: "We were among the first out of the blocks to establish the prime broker agreements stipulated by AIFMD and to roll-out enhanced systems enabling the required functionality around oversight, monitoring and reconciliation. We were also at the forefront when it came to building the feeds – from more than 20 external data providers – needed to take in the data that will allow us to discharge our duties as an AIFMD depositary. It has required a major effort in terms of planning, investment and man-hours to reach this position, but I'm pleased to say we and our clients are ready for the July 22 deadline."

BNY Mellon's Asset Servicing business supports institutional investors in today's fast-evolving markets, safekeeping assets and enhancing the management and administration of client investments through services that process, monitor and measure data from around the world. We leverage our global footprint and local expertise to deliver insight and solutions across every stage of the investment lifecycle.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of March 31, 2014, BNY Mellon had $27.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

Contact: Tim Steele
+44 20 7163 5850
tim.steele@bnymellon.com

This press release is issued by The Bank of New York Mellon to members of the financial press and media. All information and figures source BNY Mellon unless otherwise stated as at March 31, 2014.
The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, registered in England and Wales with FC005522 and BR000818.
Branch office: One Canada Square, London E14 5AL. The Bank of New York Mellon is supervised and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
The Bank of New York Mellon London branch is subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Details about the extent of our regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request.