Published: November 7, 2022
The experienced banker, previously at BNY Mellon, will guide EDB’s growth as it expands its digital banking services and accommodates new client demands.
In late June European Depositary Bank (EDB) announced it had appointed David Claus as CEO and member of the board of directors. David Claus, a banker with almost 30 years’ experience in asset servicing and management, joined the bank in April and assumed his new role on 16 June.
Headquartered in Luxembourg with branches in the UK, Ireland and Malta, the EDB provides banking, depositary and custody solutions to a wide range of clients including asset managers, family offices, institutional investors and corporates. The bank does not offer retail services.
“The EDB is part of an extremely entrepreneurial and dynamic wider organisation – Apex Group – which is what initially attracted me to the role,” Claus tells EMEA Finance. “EDB has a long history of enabling institutional investors to directly access the Luxembourg financial market. As an independent provider, I believe it has an important role to play in offering clients an agile and responsive cross-jurisdictional service in an ever-changing regulatory environment.”
EDB was founded in 1973, as a subsidiary of the German private bank M. M. Warburg & CO, before being acquired by Apex Group in 2019. A global financial services provider established in Bermuda, Apex Group has over 10,000 employees worldwide and nearly US$3 trillion in assets. Having expanded through a series of acquisitions, it now has 85 offices in 42 countries.
Claus says that the shareholders and board have a clear vision for the bank – namely to become the best depositary bank for its clients. Currently, EDB is one of the largest providers in Europe for regulated UCITS and alternative funds, with over US$160bn of assets under depositary as of May this year. It is able to service a vast array of regulated products in liquid assets, alongside hedge funds, private equity funds, hybrid funds, fund of funds, and Shariah-compliant investment funds.
“We are nimble and flexible enough to respond quickly to clients, and large enough to offer the services they need, while investing in our people and technology,” says Claus.
Getting down to business