DTCC Connection

As DTCC’s face to its clients, the global Relationship Management group is committed to fostering and deepening industry partnerships by keeping clients informed about developments across DTCC’s businesses while relaying client feedback to internal teams.

DTCC Connection recently sat down with Mark Vercruysse, DTCC Managing Director and Head of the global Relationship Management group, to get his thoughts on the role Relationship Management plays within the financial services industry. Vercruysse was named to the position last year, and he is responsible for a staff of 72, including Relationship Managers (RM), Account Managers (AM), Global Account Managers (GAM) and project staff in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

What is the most important thing that clients should know about the Relationship Management group?

This group is the voice of the client at DTCC, dedicated to maintaining and deepening DTCC’s relationship with the financial services industry and covering every product and service that the organization offers. RMs also address the industry’s pain points by listening to clients and evaluating their needs. This translates into a continuous cycle of knowledge sharing.

How do the RMs maintain their knowledge of the financial services industry’s needs and DTCC’s alignment with those needs?

RMs create, maintain and strengthen DTCC’s rapport with clients, absorbing information about their concerns while presenting them with solutions to their pain points. In order to do this, the RM group uses internal educational platforms and works in conjunction with DTCC Product Management, Sales, and Marketing & Communications, receiving updates on DTCC initiatives and providing them with information about client pain points. This ensures a constant flow of accurate and relevant information for DTCC clients.

Are their different RMs responsible for different solutions?

Each RM in the group is given the ability to serve regions they specialize in, making sure they have subject matter expert level knowledge of the areas they cover. DTCC offers a wide swath of solutions to its clients, and the group follows a centralized model to ensure accuracy and consistency, enabling them to provide a best-in-class client experience. For instance, one group of RMS manages relationships for NSCC, DTC and Institutional Trade Processing. Another group of RMs focuses on Global Trade Repository (GTR) and Margin Transit Utility (MTU). These groups are then further broken out by region. These groups are part of the centralized model, which ensures a streamlined client experience.

What’s the difference between the global RMs and those that focus on specific products or regions?

The Global Account Management program began three years ago. GAMs work with RMs and AMs within each region to provide premier global coverage. GAMs are responsible for ensuring alignment of DTCC services with the needs of its global clients.

What has been the team’s focus for 2017?

For most of the year, the recent T+2 settlement cycle implementation was and continues to be a major focus for the group. There are also changes within DTCC’s Fixed Income divisions of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and Government Securities Division (GSD). Additional focal points are DTCC DataPro, Margin Transit Utility (MTU), and the GTR, which is going through a re-architecture to provide users with greater stability and a better user experience.