Africa isn’t always easy for a custodian. The region is characterised by small, diverse markets with equally varied regulatory systems, which means building a sizable business is a tough task. A great deal of time and effort is required along with an on-the-ground footprint and local market expertise to make sure client assets are safe, trades settle on time and all rules are met.

Mark Kerns, the outgoing global head of investor services for Standard Bank – the dominant custody bank in sub-Saharan Africa – knows the challenges better than anybody and has overcome substantial obstacles during his eight years at the company.

Under his leadership the growth of Standard Bank’s investor services business in sub-Saharan Africa has been exceptional, underpinned by strong demand from international investors as well as continued development of the pension savings and insurance markets at a local level.

The company now acts as a trustee, custodian, securities lending agent, derivatives clearer and more, and works closely with all relevant regulatory stakeholders across multiple markets.

In the Middle East and Africa, Standard Bank has won many previous Global Investor/ ISF sub-custody survey awards for outstanding coverage.

Earlier this year the bank racked up 20 wins, both weighted and unweighted in nine African nations: Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Elsewhere, it came first in the unweighted category in both Botswana and Zambia.

Clients looking for a wide range of service solutions to match their needs meant Kerns and his team are expanding the firm’s offering to include accounting, valuation, compliance and performance services—the things you see with global custodians.

Mark’s efforts and previous endeavours across the financial industry make a worthy winner of the Global Investor/ISF Lifetime Achievement award.

Before the age of 30, he became a director at The WM Company, a provider of investment accounting, valuation and performance measurement services. Bankers Trust bought the firm in the late 1980s, which meant Kerns played a key role in combining the group’s custody capability with the reporting capabilities of The WM Company.

The fusion led to Bankers Trust becoming one of the first providers of master custody internationally. A switch to JPMorgan in 1992 saw him build a master custody business and expand the bank’s reporting services. Kerns and his team built service capability initially in London and later in New York.

Bank of New York’s acquisition of JPMorgan’s securities services meant another move in 1996.

He subsequently spent over a decade at BNY Mellon where he filled a variety of executive roles, the last of which was executive vice president and head of fund manager services which included trustee, custody, fund administration both on and offshore and related services provided to Fund Managers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Investors are the lifeblood of the custody business,” said Kerns at last year’s SIBOS event in Singapore. That’s an ethos that has served Kerns and the businesses he has worked for well over the years.

Kerns is as confident as ever that Africa will see capital markets growth. While there may be challenges, the opportunity is clearly there to see.

Kern’s next move is not yet known but he leaves Standard Bank in an excellent position to benefit from, and contribute to, Africa’s financial future.

Charl Bruyns has taken over his role with immediate effect.