BNP Paribas Securities Services cordons off its dealings with alternative investors because of the complex business infrastructure they need, says global head of coverage and client solutions Charles Cock. In an exclusive interview with Euromoney Sibos Insider, Cock revealed that alternative investors are still sectioned away from other institutional clients.
“We cover all client segments except retail banks,” says Cock. “There are four categories of asset manager, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other asset owners, however we currently isolate the alternative investors. We do this partly because we are a late player in this field and we feel it is better to have an isolated area so the specific expertise and capabilities needed to service these clients can be focused on. In a few years, we hope to integrate these clients with the others.”
BNP Paribas Securities Services has $7 trillion of assets under custody and $1.2 trillion of assets under administration, with more than 6,600 funds administered as of June 30. Cock is in charge of the client-facing lines at BNP Paribas Securities Services and works on knowing where the client demand and needs are. He then delegates strategy in different regions and areas.
In terms of business expansion, Cock believes a growing client base means that they will have to go on a hiring drive, especially in Asia.
“We are definitely going to be increasing our headcount,” says Cock. “Unlike our competitors, we won’t reduce our headcount and we are totally committed to pursuing our long-term strategy of expanding across many emerging markets. We have and continue to add more markets to our coverage, such as our recent additional offices and capabilities in India and China.”
At the Sibos conference in Toronto many firms, including BNP Paribas, have mentioned the importance of emerging markets. However, when asked about its approach to business in the west, in light of sovereign debt issues and changing regulation, Cock says that Europe is still a primary focus, and that the fragmentation in European markets will help it tackle the task of expanding in Asia.
“We have a well diversified client base and Europe is still very important to us,” says Cock. “We are the fifth top global provider with assets under custody, while the other four are US institutions. We are experts in dealing with European markets and the fact we are able to cater for so many across a fragmented region will help us to expand in Asia where each country has a range of different jurisdictions and nuances.”
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