The rising cost of running an in-house securities lending desk

Running an in-house securities lending desk carries significant and growing costs.

From expanding SaaS stacks to rising headcount, licence renewals, compliance demands, and mounting integration challenges – the overhead keeps climbing, even as the operating model stays the same.

At some point, you have to ask: why are we still doing it this way?

You pay for pre-trade venues with fixed subscriptions and per-trade charges. Post-trade platforms to handle reconciliation, billing, and collateral. Market data feeds for lending activity, end-of-day pricing, and corporate actions; each with their own contracts and pricing models.

On top of that, you need a trading desk, experts from pre- and post-trade operations, plus legal and compliance to manage agreements, tri-party setups, and regulatory requirements like SFTR and 10c-1a. And as you expand into new markets and navigate evolving rules, consultancy fees scale up, too, driving costs even higher.

The result? A fragmented, resource-heavy ecosystem that is expensive to maintain, difficult to scale, and increasingly out of step with what the business needs.

Meanwhile, we all know lending revenues aren’t linear. When activity slows, your model stops making financial sense. When markets heat up, scaling and capturing every opportunity becomes its own challenge. You’re locked into a bottom line that doesn’t consistently align with performance.

The traditional model is creaking under its own weight.

Let go of the overhead. Keep the upside. Because in the end, you’re not just buying a better model. You’re buying peace of mind: It’s called SLaaS.  

With securities lending, as with other investment activities, your capital may be at risk.

Sharegain Securities Inc. is registered with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and is a member of FINRA (CRD# 318555) and SIPC. Sharegain Ltd is registered in England and Wales (no. 09600298) and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (no. 730395). Registered address: 77 Hatton Garden, London, Greater London, England, EC1N 8JS. Information regarding Sharegain Securities Inc. may be found at brokercheck.finra.org. Any information published on this website is intended exclusively for institutional investors and financial intermediaries. By using this website, you understand that all material presented here is provided for informational purposes only and agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Nothing in this communication should be construed as investment advice or an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to engage in a securities lending programme. All investing involves risk and past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future results. You should seek independent financial and/or tax advice before making any investment decisions. For more information, please contact info@sharegain.com © 2025 Sharegain Ltd