Custodians have dedicated much of this year to negotiating the vagaries of the European Union’s alternative investment fund managers directive that will come into force in January 2012. Last month, the industry won a reprieve when the strict liability rules for depositaries were watered down.

While hedge fund managers and private equity firms had London mayor Boris Johnson lobbying Brussels about marketing rules that could harm their businesses, custodians had joined forces to launch their own, quieter attack.