A safekeeping account is an account in which a custodian, broker or securities depository holds securities and similar assets for a client. It is the securities counterpart of a cash account: instead of money balances, it records the quantity of each share, bond or fund unit that the client owns. Deliveries from purchases are credited to it, sales are debited from it, and income and corporate actions are processed against the positions it shows. The service around it is described under securities safekeeping.
A custodian bank may open an individual segregated account for one client or pool many clients in an omnibus account at the central securities depository, keeping the client-level split in its own books. Assets in a safekeeping account are held off the custodian's balance sheet, so they should remain the client's if the custodian fails. Regular custody account reconciliation supports that protection.