Illustration showing hands manipulating financial institutions like puppets, representing systemic control and extraction in traditional finance

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Systemic Capital Extraction

Securities lending already generates large, steady revenues—yet asset owners see little of it.
This is not oversight. It is design. Intermediary layers obscure pricing, delay settlement, and absorb value before it returns to the owner.

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The Scale

$2.6T on loan

Approximate global securities on loan. A large, recurring base of activity.

$10.3B revenue (2024)

Annual securities lending revenue in 2024. Directionally stable across cycles.

~5% owner share

The typical fraction that reaches the asset owner; the rest is captured in spreads and fees.

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Why It Leaks

T+2 creates cost and exposure
Coordination across multiple parties introduces failure windows and capital drag that markets must price in.

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Utilization Snapshot

  • U.S. equities: ~2.6% utilisation
  • European equities: ~3.8%
  • Corporate bonds: ~5.9% (peak Oct 2024)
  • Government bonds: ~8.2%
Translation: Large pools of lendable assets sit idle due to friction, opacity, and access limits.
There is a simpler way to run the same market: direct, transparent, and programmable. That is the solution.