Requirement to protect clients' safe custody assets - CASS Provision

Template:CASS Section 6.2.1 (View Template)

Discussion

Under CASS 6.2.1 R, a firm is subject to an obligation “when holding safe custody assets belonging to clients" to “make adequate arrangements so as to safeguard clients'ownership rights, especially in the event of the firm's insolvency, and to prevent the use of safe custody assets belonging to a client on the firm's own account except with the client's express consent".

CASS 6.1 (which deals with the general application of the custody rules in CASS 6) contains a provision (CASS 6.1.4R) which states that: “The custody rules do not apply where a firm carries on business in its name but on behalf of the client where that is required by the very nature of the transaction and the and the client is in agreement".

This rule recognises that transactions sometimes need to be undertaken on behalf of clients in the firm's own name (for example because the relevant counterparty might have issues about the client's creditworthiness) and that this may result in the firm having to hold relevant assets in proprietary accounts. The rule therefore appears potentially to cover the situation where the firm acquires assets as agent for an undisclosed principal and where, as a result, the transaction is required to settle temporarily into the firm's proprietary accounts (before the relevant assets are transferred to the client's custody account).

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