EUROPE - Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has consolidated €6bn in custody with ABN Amro Mellon, according to the provider.

"ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities Services has been appointed by GlaxoSmithKline as global custodian of its €6bn billion corporate pension fund," the joint venture said.

It will also provide performance measurement and a "bespoke and flexible unitisation solution".

ABN Amro Mellon said the decision builds on its existing relationship with the former SmithKline Beecham, where it had €740m in assets under custody.

“Following the merger of SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo, the corporate pension fund decided to consolidate its custody assets with a single global custodian,” the provider said.

"We were impressed by ABN Amro Mellon's approach to our business, and their presentation demonstrated an excellent understanding of our requirements across the board,” said Martin Mannion, GSK’s pensions finance manager.

Nadine Chakar, chief executive of ABN Amro Mellon, added: “This is a significant business win for us in the UK marketplace and also demonstrates the benefits of sharing common ground in our business philosophy, partnership approach and team culture."

In August IPE reported that GSK had decided to put all its pension assets into "one pot" and avoid paying two sets of fees to consultants.

It was also looking at managers in a process that would be completed by the end of the year. “”We're completely restructuring the pension fund," senior vice president Rob Collinge said at the time.

Topics