State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) completed tender procedures which started on September 16, 2005 for the selection of a global custodian bank. The tender procedures were held in strict conformance with the Law of Azerbaijan Republic on State Procurement procedures. The winner of the open tender for provision of custodial services to SOFAZ is The Bank of New York.
The decision to seek improvement of the conditions of the custody services were taken due to the two factors. Growth of the assets under management is creating an opportunity to attempt reducing custody fees and increased complexity of the operations of the Fund requiring value added services to be provided by a custodian at some later stages which had not been included into the current custodial arrangements.
In addition to public tender announcements, invitations were sent to 16 financial institutions providing global custodial services and possessing a credit rating of AA- or higher. 11 institutions expressed interest and 8 submitted tender proposals. The latter were: BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Transaction Services, HSBC Bank Plc, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Royal Bank of Canada Global Services, Societe GenerР°le Global Securities Services, State Street Bank GmbH, The Bank of New York.
The Bank of New York is one of the largest global custodians with over $10 trillion of assets under custody and administration. It operates 4 key business segments Securities Services, Treasury Management Services, Investment Management Services and Individual and Regional Banking Services. Global Custody Services are part of Securities Services business segment.