State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $51.7 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $5.4 trillion* in assets under management as of September 30, 2025 has opened its MENA headquarters in KSA after receiving approval from the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (MISA).
State Street offer asset management clients digital assets in their portfolio alongside traditional assets. As per their website that are currently offering services providers that hold digital assets in their portfolios across hedge, asset owners and asset managers, as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the United States, and those who have ETFs/ETPs in Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific.
In 2026 State Street plans to enter the crypto custody space. In 2024, it partnered with Taurus for custody technology. Their vision according to their website is to enable core digital asset infrastructure for you and drive growth as a trusted provider of end-to-end solutions on a secure, interoperable blockchain.
In October State Street published “State Street Digital Assets and Emerging Technology Study“, which found that the average investment institution currently holds just under a 10th of its total assets under management (AUM) in digital assets, and that figure is projected to more than double over the next three years.
The study also noted the average portfolio allocation across a range of digital assets currently stands at 7 percent, while target allocations are expected to rise to 16 percent within three years. The most common forms for these investments to take were digital cash and tokenized versions of listed equities or fixed income, with respondents holding an average of 1 percent of their portfolios in each.
In terms of its recent opening of its office in KSA, this is not a surprise given that State Street has been serving clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for over 25 years. In 2020, State Street established local operations in the Kingdom. Today, assets under custody and/or administration have grown to $127 billion while assets under management have grown to $60 billion for clients in the Kingdom.
In addition, in 2024 State Street Saudi Arabia became the 11th investment center of State Street Investment Management globally, with the ability to manage portfolios for institutional investors in the Kingdom locally.
Oliver Berger, head of Strategic Growth Markets, commented, “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is reshaping the Kingdom’s financial ecosystem, and we are proud to contribute to this transformation. Establishing our RHQ in Riyadh reflects our long-term commitment to the Kingdom, and spotlights the world class services State Street has been providing to investors from around the world for over 230 years.”
Emmanuel Laurina, Head of Middle East, Africa & Official Institutions at State Street Investment Management, added, “State Street’s global strength and expertise are two of the many things that truly set us apart. We have seen keen interest from clients and prospects in the Kingdom, while global investors are excited about the opportunities the region presents. This new headquarters helps position us as a global leader in investment solutions and product innovation in the Middle East as one of the fastest growing and most significant economic regions in the world.”
The announcement comes a day after Saudi Ministry of Municipalities spoke on the adoption of stablecoin payments in the country, and days after Chainalysis MENA report came out showing Saudi Arabia as 5th leading country in MENA when it comes total crypto value received in from mid 2024 to mid 2025. It reached around $48 billion.
