Securities lending generates revenue by putting idle portfolio assets to work, but running an efficient lending program requires careful operational infrastructure. Agent lenders, custodian banks with lending programs, and specialist securities finance intermediaries all face the same operational challenge: high transaction volumes, complex billing arrangements, and intensive counterparty communication requirements. In 2026, securities lending firms are using virtual assistants to manage the billing and administrative workflows that tie up operations teams.
Client Billing in Securities Lending
Agent lending billing typically involves distributing a share of lending revenue to beneficial owner clients—pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and mutual fund complexes—according to negotiated revenue-sharing arrangements. Generating accurate earnings statements, reconciling them against trade and collateral data, and managing client inquiries about statement line items requires consistent, detail-oriented administrative work at scale.
According to a 2025 Risk.net survey of institutional securities lending operations, billing and earnings statement disputes were cited by 38% of agent lending operations managers as a significant operational drain, with each dispute requiring an average of seven staff-hours to resolve. Virtual assistants handling billing support can prepare earnings statement packages, cross-reference revenue calculations against trade data, manage dispute correspondence, and maintain audit trails of billing adjustments—reducing the time senior staff spend on billing administration.
Loan and Collateral Coordination
Active securities lending programs involve continuous loan initiation, return, and collateral substitution activity. While the negotiation and pricing of loans requires trader expertise, the administrative coordination of loan lifecycle events—sending and confirming open position reports, coordinating collateral substitution requests, tracking margin call activity, and managing recall workflows when beneficial owners need securities returned—is well within virtual assistant scope.
SIFMA's 2025 securities finance operations data showed that lending desks at mid-sized agent lenders managed an average of 1,200 loan-level administrative events per month, with coordination communications representing the majority of operations staff time on non-trade tasks. Virtual assistants absorb that coordination volume, ensuring timely follow-up with borrowers and internal desks without distracting senior staff from portfolio and risk management responsibilities.
Institutional Client Administration
Beneficial owner clients—particularly pension funds and insurance companies—require ongoing administrative support beyond earnings reporting. Onboarding new clients into lending programs involves legal documentation, investment policy review coordination, collateral schedule negotiation, and regulatory disclosure management. Ongoing client administration includes distributing performance reports, coordinating investment policy reviews, managing authorized signatory updates, and supporting periodic program reviews.
Deloitte's 2025 Asset Servicing Operations Survey found that client administration for lending program participants consumed an average of 18% of relationship manager time at agent lending operations, with documentation collection and reporting distribution representing the largest categories. Virtual assistants handling client administration ensure that routine tasks are completed promptly, enabling relationship managers to focus on client strategy and program optimization.
Regulatory Reporting Coordination
Securities lending programs face increasing regulatory reporting obligations, including SFTR reporting in Europe and Form N-CEN reporting for registered funds in the United States. While regulatory compliance decisions require specialist expertise, the data gathering, cross-referencing, and submission coordination associated with periodic regulatory reporting are administrative tasks that virtual assistants can support—tracking data completeness, coordinating with counterparties on trade data confirmation, and managing submission calendars.
BIS data from 2025 indicated that global securities lending volumes exceeded $3.4 trillion in outstanding loan value, with regulatory reporting complexity growing proportionally as jurisdictions expanded transaction-level reporting requirements.
Building a VA-Supported Lending Operation
Securities lending firms that have integrated virtual assistants into their operations typically begin with earnings statement administration and client correspondence management, then expand into loan coordination support and regulatory reporting preparation. The result is a more scalable operation that can handle volume growth without proportional headcount increases.
For securities lending operations teams exploring virtual assistant options, Stealth Agents provides trained VAs with financial services operations experience, available for billing support, client administration, and lending coordination roles.
Sources
- Risk.net, Institutional Securities Lending Operations Survey 2025
- SIFMA, Securities Finance Operations Data Report 2025
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Global Securities Financing Statistics 2025