Northern Trust extends partnership with Broadridge to support SRD II compliance

By Joy Dumasia

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., a global FinTech leader, has announced it has delivered its full suite of Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II) compliance investor communication solutions to Northern Trust. These solutions are in use across Northern Trust’s global asset servicing business.

SRD II sets clear objectives for intermediaries requiring transmissions of information between shareholders and companies. It has significantly impacted shareholder communications for all EU issuers, investors and intermediaries holding or servicing European equities worldwide.

Northern Trust and Broadridge have explored a range of applications for digital technologies in recent years. The shareholder disclosure platform is the first in a suite of new investor communication solutions that Broadridge has developed in collaboration with Northern Trust and other leading banking organisations, taking ideas from concept to live production readiness in under 18 months. The platform utilises the latest digital technologies, DLT and APIs to provide real-time connectivity to issuers and financial intermediaries.

Northern Trust uses Broadridge’s SRD II-enhanced Global Proxy platform, which supports identical day meeting distributions, agenda translations, vote processing, vote confirmations and provides reconciliation tools for chain-of-custody clients.

Justin Chapman, Global Head, Market Advocacy and Innovation Research at Northern Trust, said: “A primary focus for us is to advise and support our clients through regulatory change. As we maintain this focus, we are pleased to leverage our long-standing relationship with Broadridge, whose team has been instrumental in defining a market-ready SRD II solution for all aspects of voting and disclosure throughout the communications chain.”

Demi Derem, General Manager, Investor Communication Solutions International, Broadridge, said: “Along with other leading global custodians, Northern Trust has helped us shape the design and functionality of our new shareholder disclosure platform, which has been created to serve the needs of custodians and all financial intermediaries impacted by SRD II. We are delighted to expand our strong and collaborative relationship with Northern Trust across our full suite of SRD II solutions and look forward to collaborating further in the future.”