The tale of two businesses: how new leadership aims to deliver for clients
13 June 2023
State Street’s new heads Taryn Siglain and Patricia Hostin share their plans for the advancement of agency lending and prime services businesses, while highlighting the importance of representation in the workforce. Carmella Haswell reports
Image: State Street
“The ongoing focus on DEI across the industry has not only opened the door to women joining financial services, it has created an environment in which they have felt valued and supported, where they can pursue their career aspirations to their fullest,” says Patricia Hostin, global head of Agency Securities Lending at State Street.
Becoming new senior representatives of State Street, Hostin and Taryn Siglain joined the Boston-based bank earlier this year to spearhead the firm’s core securities lending businesses, Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services (formerly Enhanced Custody).
Hostin will oversee the entire agency lending business globally, working collaboratively across key business and support functions to manage the delivery of State Street’s securities lending product. Siglain, as global head of State Street Prime Services, will be responsible for the development, execution and delivery of securities lending solutions.
With more than 35 years of financial services experience between them, Hostin and Siglain pinpoint the significance of representation within the workplace, having both witnessed female leaders in action. Reviewing her time on the trading floor, fresh out of her undergraduate studies, Hostin recalls a female leader who ran the cash portfolio management team at the time who “set an amazing example of a senior woman in a markets business”.
Hostin continues: “I knew that she had found success and that gave me comfort that I could do so too. Representation matters, we have to see ourselves in our leaders. I hope to set an example for others to show that women and people with families can find success wherever they choose to look for it.”
The representation of women in finance has improved significantly. The face of trading floors in particular has evolved, with women comprising a much larger segment of all types of trading desks. However, there is still work to be done.
Back when Siglain was starting out in the financial sector, she felt that women were forced to choose between a family or a career. She explains: “There seemed to be these assumptions that when women did have children, they weren't really focused on their career, or maybe they were taken out of the running for promotions, or fast tracking. From my perspective, they were often high performers and there was no need for that.”
Siglain commends firms for the increase in partner leaves for those who want to start a family, therefore levelling the playing field. Through these benefits in the workplace, Siglain indicates that it not only lessens the burden for the person at home trying to juggle home life and transition back to work, but it also reduces the negative view of the mother leaving the workforce as now both partners can take that break to raise a family, normalising the balance between family and career. These positive steps have encouraged a significant improvement in the representation of women in senior positions that have young children.
“Look at State Street, we are here, they just hired me and Patty. Not only were we best for the job, but we are working moms, we both have toddlers at home,” Siglain states. “I really hope that serves as an inspiration for employees, men and women, who want to have families and also want to focus on their career.”
Shaping the future of State Street
State Street’s Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services businesses are two distinct lines that work in close collaboration to deliver for clients.
Providing customised custodial and third-party securities lending solutions, its agency lending programme manages all lending activities from pre- to post-trade; while its prime services business offers a prime brokerage-like experience with additional security, allowing clients to borrow and finance securities within a segregated custody account.
The Boston bank recently confirmed the rebrand of its prime services business, formerly known as Enhanced Custody. The company intended to clearly define the business in today’s marketplace, following the evolution of the business from a more traditional, custody-based offering following the financial crisis, to a more prime-based offering today.
Although mindful of the obligations to their own clients, Siglain and Hostin will work closely together as their two businesses cross paths. State Street’s Direct Access Model is an example of the collaboration of the two entities, where agency lending beneficial owners and Prime Services clients connect in a peer-to-peer model. “We are able to use our technology and our expertise in asset servicing to do it in a way that drives stability of the balance sheet and higher returns for our clients, but we are able to make it look and feel seamless to our principal model,” Siglain confirms.
She continues: “Ultimately, it is important that we deliver innovative solutions for our clients and we do that as we invest in the end-to-end business model. But we also continue to stand in the middle to provide our expertise in financing solutions, as well as navigate the different market dynamics and regulatory landscape.”
Hostin indicates that State Street is investing its tech dollars heavily in an end-to-end business model. One element of the firm’s technology evolution is re-architecting the technology platform that drives the agency lending business. State Street aims to improve client confidence in trusting global systemically important financial institutions (GSIFI) to manage their financing, and reiterates its commitment to servicing the securities finance sector through its investment in the firm’s Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services businesses.
“I am pleased to be joining at such a crucial time and to help shape the future of the agency lending business at State Street,” Hostin adds.
Key points of focus
With a 16-year career in financial services and a diverse background across treasury, resource optimisation, relationship management, strategy and trading, Siglain plans to use all aspects of her background to deliver for State Street clients and the firm. A key point of focus for Siglain will be to build the relationships internally while finding opportunities to collaborate across business lines to provide solutions.
For the first three months of her role leading State Street Prime Services, Siglain has been using meet and greet opportunities with clients as a tool to set the agenda for the next 12 months and to determine new products and new geographies to explore.
Siglain explains: “Our global distribution model is really core to the business, not only for the Americas, but for EMEA and APAC as well. We are definitely focused on assessing our global presence and investing anywhere that is necessary. I'm really excited to get to ISLA with Patty, where we can meet all of our clients outside of the Americas, face to face.”
With complementary backgrounds in finance, both Hostin and Siglain have spent time in roles where they managed bank resources, sat on trading desks, and were responsible for long-term strategy and planning — Hostin explains that the pair became firm friends.
“Our clients expect thought leadership and an unwavering commitment to execution,” Hostin adds. “That's what I hope to deliver for our agency lending business.”
Hostin has a three-fold plan for State Street’s Agency Securities Lending business. First and foremost, Hostin will work to generate the best outcomes for her diverse client base and to be solutions oriented. Secondly, Hostin aims to offer the most commercial lending product in the market and make State Street the lender for first, second and last resort. Thirdly, she will look to expand the firm’s reach to new clients by delivering a “market-leading agency lending product”, coupled with all that the State Street platform has to offer.
Despite having been in their positions for a short period of time, State Street has made a positive impression on both Hostin and Siglain. “Taryn mentioned that a big selling point was the people,” says Hostin.“I cannot express how amazing the team has been with every interaction along the way. The people of the firm are such a testament to the culture and I'm really excited to join State Street. It's been just an absolute pleasure so far.”
With a plan of action in place for State Street’s core businesses, work continues outside of this to further a significant cause — diversity and inclusion (D&I).
Work to further advance D&I is of high importance, notes Siglain. “I'm looking forward to helping to drive some initiatives within our talent council and also within State Street's 10 Actions Against Racism,” she continues. “All of the work that State Street is doing across D&I was one of the key selling points for me when I joined and I have been really impressed with the firm’s commitment there.”
Becoming new senior representatives of State Street, Hostin and Taryn Siglain joined the Boston-based bank earlier this year to spearhead the firm’s core securities lending businesses, Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services (formerly Enhanced Custody).
Hostin will oversee the entire agency lending business globally, working collaboratively across key business and support functions to manage the delivery of State Street’s securities lending product. Siglain, as global head of State Street Prime Services, will be responsible for the development, execution and delivery of securities lending solutions.
With more than 35 years of financial services experience between them, Hostin and Siglain pinpoint the significance of representation within the workplace, having both witnessed female leaders in action. Reviewing her time on the trading floor, fresh out of her undergraduate studies, Hostin recalls a female leader who ran the cash portfolio management team at the time who “set an amazing example of a senior woman in a markets business”.
Hostin continues: “I knew that she had found success and that gave me comfort that I could do so too. Representation matters, we have to see ourselves in our leaders. I hope to set an example for others to show that women and people with families can find success wherever they choose to look for it.”
The representation of women in finance has improved significantly. The face of trading floors in particular has evolved, with women comprising a much larger segment of all types of trading desks. However, there is still work to be done.
Back when Siglain was starting out in the financial sector, she felt that women were forced to choose between a family or a career. She explains: “There seemed to be these assumptions that when women did have children, they weren't really focused on their career, or maybe they were taken out of the running for promotions, or fast tracking. From my perspective, they were often high performers and there was no need for that.”
Siglain commends firms for the increase in partner leaves for those who want to start a family, therefore levelling the playing field. Through these benefits in the workplace, Siglain indicates that it not only lessens the burden for the person at home trying to juggle home life and transition back to work, but it also reduces the negative view of the mother leaving the workforce as now both partners can take that break to raise a family, normalising the balance between family and career. These positive steps have encouraged a significant improvement in the representation of women in senior positions that have young children.
“Look at State Street, we are here, they just hired me and Patty. Not only were we best for the job, but we are working moms, we both have toddlers at home,” Siglain states. “I really hope that serves as an inspiration for employees, men and women, who want to have families and also want to focus on their career.”
Shaping the future of State Street
State Street’s Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services businesses are two distinct lines that work in close collaboration to deliver for clients.
Providing customised custodial and third-party securities lending solutions, its agency lending programme manages all lending activities from pre- to post-trade; while its prime services business offers a prime brokerage-like experience with additional security, allowing clients to borrow and finance securities within a segregated custody account.
The Boston bank recently confirmed the rebrand of its prime services business, formerly known as Enhanced Custody. The company intended to clearly define the business in today’s marketplace, following the evolution of the business from a more traditional, custody-based offering following the financial crisis, to a more prime-based offering today.
Although mindful of the obligations to their own clients, Siglain and Hostin will work closely together as their two businesses cross paths. State Street’s Direct Access Model is an example of the collaboration of the two entities, where agency lending beneficial owners and Prime Services clients connect in a peer-to-peer model. “We are able to use our technology and our expertise in asset servicing to do it in a way that drives stability of the balance sheet and higher returns for our clients, but we are able to make it look and feel seamless to our principal model,” Siglain confirms.
She continues: “Ultimately, it is important that we deliver innovative solutions for our clients and we do that as we invest in the end-to-end business model. But we also continue to stand in the middle to provide our expertise in financing solutions, as well as navigate the different market dynamics and regulatory landscape.”
Hostin indicates that State Street is investing its tech dollars heavily in an end-to-end business model. One element of the firm’s technology evolution is re-architecting the technology platform that drives the agency lending business. State Street aims to improve client confidence in trusting global systemically important financial institutions (GSIFI) to manage their financing, and reiterates its commitment to servicing the securities finance sector through its investment in the firm’s Agency Securities Lending and State Street Prime Services businesses.
“I am pleased to be joining at such a crucial time and to help shape the future of the agency lending business at State Street,” Hostin adds.
Key points of focus
With a 16-year career in financial services and a diverse background across treasury, resource optimisation, relationship management, strategy and trading, Siglain plans to use all aspects of her background to deliver for State Street clients and the firm. A key point of focus for Siglain will be to build the relationships internally while finding opportunities to collaborate across business lines to provide solutions.
For the first three months of her role leading State Street Prime Services, Siglain has been using meet and greet opportunities with clients as a tool to set the agenda for the next 12 months and to determine new products and new geographies to explore.
Siglain explains: “Our global distribution model is really core to the business, not only for the Americas, but for EMEA and APAC as well. We are definitely focused on assessing our global presence and investing anywhere that is necessary. I'm really excited to get to ISLA with Patty, where we can meet all of our clients outside of the Americas, face to face.”
With complementary backgrounds in finance, both Hostin and Siglain have spent time in roles where they managed bank resources, sat on trading desks, and were responsible for long-term strategy and planning — Hostin explains that the pair became firm friends.
“Our clients expect thought leadership and an unwavering commitment to execution,” Hostin adds. “That's what I hope to deliver for our agency lending business.”
Hostin has a three-fold plan for State Street’s Agency Securities Lending business. First and foremost, Hostin will work to generate the best outcomes for her diverse client base and to be solutions oriented. Secondly, Hostin aims to offer the most commercial lending product in the market and make State Street the lender for first, second and last resort. Thirdly, she will look to expand the firm’s reach to new clients by delivering a “market-leading agency lending product”, coupled with all that the State Street platform has to offer.
Despite having been in their positions for a short period of time, State Street has made a positive impression on both Hostin and Siglain. “Taryn mentioned that a big selling point was the people,” says Hostin.“I cannot express how amazing the team has been with every interaction along the way. The people of the firm are such a testament to the culture and I'm really excited to join State Street. It's been just an absolute pleasure so far.”
With a plan of action in place for State Street’s core businesses, work continues outside of this to further a significant cause — diversity and inclusion (D&I).
Work to further advance D&I is of high importance, notes Siglain. “I'm looking forward to helping to drive some initiatives within our talent council and also within State Street's 10 Actions Against Racism,” she continues. “All of the work that State Street is doing across D&I was one of the key selling points for me when I joined and I have been really impressed with the firm’s commitment there.”
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