The FCA has published a depositary update in connection with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).  The update is relevant to a firm applying for authorisation or variation of permission to carry out the function of acting as depositary or trustee of an Alternative Investment Fund.  The FCA states
that:

• a depositary must not delegate its functions to third parties, except for the safekeeping of assets which may be delegated under a number of     conditions.  A third party should be understood to mean any party that is not part of the same legal entity as the applicant;
• delegation of supporting tasks that are linked to depositary tasks, such as      administrative or technical functions performed by the depositary as a part of its depositary tasks, are not subject to the specific limitations and requirements set out in this Directive;
• if applicants would like to outsource any administrative or technical   functions, they should bear in mind the provisions under Chapter 8 of the      Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls sourcebook (SYSC 8) dealing with outsourcing.  These rules are binding on firms that are or will be common platform firms;
• an applicant must be able to satisfy the FCA that it will have the necessary      technical and human resources to perform the core depositary functions of     (i) cash monitoring; (ii) safekeeping (assuming this is not delegated);     and (iii) oversight; and
• although an EEA firm that establishes a branch in another Member State is not carrying out delegation when providing the services permitted under the EU Directive in question at or from the office of its branch, the points     mentioned above regarding SYSC 8 would still apply to any such      arrangement.

Related Link:

http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/markets/international-markets/aifmd/latest-news