A press release from Singapore titled, "OpenEden Selects BNY to Provide Investment Management and Custody Services for its Tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills ($TBILL) Fund," tells us, "OpenEden, a leading platform for the tokenization of Real-World Assets ('RWAs'), ... announced the appointment of certain affiliates of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ('BNY') (BK) ... as investment manager and primary custodian for the underlying assets of its flagship Tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills ('$TBILL') Fund, the world's first tokenized U.S. Treasury fund to receive an investment grade 'A' rating from Moody's. The strategic relationship highlights OpenEden and BNY's shared commitment to shaping the future of financial infrastructure by facilitating regulated and institutional-grade assets on chain for global investors." (For more, see our August 7 News, "August Money Fund Intelligence: BNY Portal Tokenizes; ICD's Tory Hazard; Stablecoins in Q2.")
BNY explains, "'Launched in 2023, OpenEden's $TBILL provides investors with direct exposure to a pool of short-dated U.S. Treasury Bills ('U.S. T-Bills') and overnight reverse repurchase agreements through the minting of the TBILL token <b:>`_. $TBILL has seen rapid and accelerating adoption, indicating the surging demand from investors for regulated, institutional-grade on-chain cash management solutions."
The release says, "BNY Investments Dreyfus is one of the largest liquidity managers in the industry with more than five decades of proven expertise and will manage $TBILL Fund on OpenEden's behalf as sub-manager. As part of its mission to build the financial infrastructure for the future, BNY will also serve as the primary custodian for the underlying assets, leveraging its established infrastructure that administers US$55.8 trillion of assets and its proven track record providing asset servicing solutions that enable the digital assets ecosystem."
They quote Jeremy Ng, Founder and CEO of OpenEden, "OpenEden's collaboration with BNY marks a critical milestone in our mission to deliver secure, transparent, and institution-ready tokenized financial products. Combining our tokenization platform with BNY's global scale and deep fiduciary expertise enables us to create a new standard for trust and access in the digital asset space."
Jose Minaya, Global Head of BNY Investments and Wealth, adds, "BNY plays a critical role in the digital assets ecosystem, serving as a trusted bridge between traditional finance and emerging technology for clients. We are excited to extend our time-tested liquidity investment management capabilities and asset safekeeping services to enable $TBILL and are proud to collaborate with OpenEden as we jointly aim to support the end-to-end lifecycle of tokenized assets."
In other news, ThinkAdvisor writes that, "Schwab Faces Cash Sweeps Suit Alleging Elder Financial Abuse." They explain, "A proposed class action lawsuit against Charles Schwab over the interest paid in its cash sweeps program accuses the firm of elder care financial abuse in addition to breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent inducement and other violations. In the lawsuit, ... Elizabeth L. Bueno and Abraham Atachbarian also accuse the financial services giant of unjust enrichment, breach of contract and violations of California business and professional codes."
The article explains, "The complaint addresses Schwab's alleged actions with respect to programs in which it automatically swept customers' uninvested cash in their non-advisory brokerage accounts into high-interest-bearing deposit accounts at its affiliated banks while paying them 'unduly low interest on this money.'"
It continues, "Customers have filed multiple lawsuits nationally accusing Schwab and other asset managers of paying unreasonably low interest rates on balances in cash sweep programs and placing their own profits over clients' best interests, contending that clients could have earned significantly higher interest elsewhere. From November 2021 to May 2025, 'Schwab never paid more than 0.45% interest to its customers in its Cash Sweeps Programs. Since December of 2024, the rate has dropped as low as .05%,' the complaint alleges."
The piece says, "The suit alleges that 'Schwab intentionally failed to disclose the enormous spread that it was earning between the low rates of interest it paid to customers as compared to the rates that Schwab and its Program Banks were earning with customers' uninvested monies,' although the rates were published in a separate disclosure. This earned interest helped fuel Schwab's profits and finance its transaction with TD Bank."
ThinkAdvisor writes, "The proposed class comprises all California residents who held non-advisory brokerage and/or retirement accounts with Schwab and had cash deposits from those retirement accounts invested in cash sweep programs during the relevant period. A subclass includes Californians 65 or older who had cash deposits in their retirement accounts subject to cash sweep programs, according to the complaint. The case, moved from California Superior Court, appears to be a refiling or amended complaint from one filed earlier in the year."
They quote a Schwab spokesperson, "Our cash sweep program is transparent, fully disclosed, and operates in compliance with all applicable regulations. We stand firmly behind our program which aligns cash management options to our clients' financial needs and goals. We offer extensive support and flexibility, enabling clients to manage their cash in a way that best fits their individual financial needs. Whether they seek more accessible cash for daily use or prefer investments aimed at higher returns, the choice is theirs to make." (See also our Jan. 21 Link of the Day, "WSJ: SEC, Brokerage Sweeps Settle," and our Sept. 19, 2024 News, "Bloomberg Law on Brokerage Sweep Suits.")
