BNP goes live with onshore custody services

BNP Paribas Securities Services has gone live with Australian domestic custody and settlement services, almost one year after being granted an Australian banking licence.

BNP launched the service last month and will complete integration of domestic services into the banking entity and alignment with the rest of the organisation by mid-October. 

Local custody and settlement services were previously accessed by external clients with Australian assets through BNP Paribas' global custody network. The group's broker-dealer business unit, BNP Paribas Arbitrage, has also chosen to transfer to the new domestic service.

"It's the sort of thing where you want to be right so there's quite a lot of work involved in the planning side. There's work involved as well in discussing with our clients what it means and what the implications are," managing director of BNP Paribas Securities Services for Australia and New Zealand, Pierre Jond, said.

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BNP Paribas has another client in the works, with Jond saying a private bank currently utilising global custody services would sign on soon.

He said the Australian market was different to other locations BNP had entered as it had a long reputable history of providing custody services here.

"We were going direct without overlaying this relationship with banking...but now we are re-aligning our proposition to the one that is available internationally, meaning that we are operating exactly the same technology as our 22 other locations," Jond said.

Australia was the 23rd location for BNP Paribas' domestic custody and settlement services, having set up shop in Brazil in March, and in India last year. 

Jond said staff travelled to Europe to learn the tools of the trade and how to service non-resident banks to ensure domestic services provided in Australia were the same as the service BNP offered in different locations around the globe.

He said the development reflected BNP Paribas' ongoing investment in the region. 

"It allows us to leverage our presence as a local bank, adding local custody and settlement services to previously launched capabilities such as listed derivatives clearing. It also opens up new services for groups like banks and broker-dealers," he said.

Superannuation fund, AVSuper will continue to receive custody services from BNP Paribas after signing on with the global custodian in April.