Broadridge's SRD II solution gains "record" interest
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Broadridge's SRD II solution gains "record" interest 15 July 2020London Reporter: Rebecca Delaney
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Broadridge Financial Solutions says it has experienced a "record number of new signings" for its multi-industry Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II) solution.
SRD II will require asset managers to disclose their policy on securities lending to institutional investors and how it is applied to fulfil its engagement activities, particularly at the time of the general meeting of the investee company.
Among SRD II’s primary aims is to crack down on the misuse of voting rights, which have in the past been abused in several ways including via the borrowing of shares ahead of key corporate action dates to influence a company’s voting results.
Broadridge was unable to disclosure an actual number of users signed up to the service but says they range from retail- and institutional-focused firms to tier-one banks, brokers and wealth managers, based both within and outside of European domiciles.
Broadridge’s Global Proxy solution allows firms to implement same-day event capture and distribution, same-day proxy vote processing and confirmations, multi-channel retail functionality, and European client data storage.
In addition, the digital Shareholder Disclosure Hub solution incorporates application programming interfaces (APIs) and blockchain-based technologies to ensure compliance with new SRD requirements.
The Broadridge solution was launched in response to the "urgent requirement" for financial institutions to comply with the European Commission’s updated SRD II, concerning global proxy voting and shareholder disclosure, by 3 September.
Earlier this year, a broad alliance of industry associations lobbied EU regulators for a delay to SRD II but this was rejected.
Demi Derem, executive general manager for global SRD II measures at Broadridge, tells SLT: “The prospect of a delay caused some firms to hesitate signing contracts, but the vast majority were already committed to our solution.
"Subsequent to the delay being declined, we have continued to receive enquiries and an ongoing stream of new signings."
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