Custody banks battling falling revenues and increased regulatory demands must change their models, and put more focus on specialist areas, if they are to survive and remain relevant to the industry and their clients.

Speaking on a panel at the Sibos conference in Dubai, Satvinder Singh, global head of trust and securities services and cash management, financial institutions, at Deutsche Bank, said depressed revenues and wallets, coupled with increased demand from clients for efficiency and lower prices, "is a unique set of circumstances".