A new licence for BNP Paribas Securities Services in Hong Kong to offer its clients its full range of custody services

BNP Paribas Securities Services has become the latest General Clearing Participant in Hong Kong – launching a comprehensive suite of local clearing and custody services.

BNP Paribas Securities Services announces today that its Hong Kong branch has been granted General Clearing Participant membership to begin offering clearing and custody services locally. With this new licence, BNP Paribas Securities Services now offers clients both third party clearing (correspondent clearing) and local custody services as a key extension to its global network.

As a major milestone within BNP Paribas Securities Services' Asian expansion program, Hong Kong will be a key centre in the provision of services to broker dealers and global custodians and the bank's first branch to offer third party clearing services in Asia. Clients will benefit from reduced risk exposure through a proven solution which assumes the clearing risk and is built on extensive experience across Europe's complex markets.

For Jean-Marc Pasquet, Head of BNP Paribas Securities Services for Asia Pacific, "This is a significant new step for our regional expansion strategy. It reinforces our commitment to provide clients with the benefits of our global expertise in a local context – especially through innovative services such as third party clearing. We have worked hard to build a truly Asian proposition based on our motto "the closer, the better", and we look forward to working with clients across the region in shaping it to their needs."

Bruno Campenon, Head of BNP Paribas Securities Services in Hong Kong, emphasises the importance of this new service for clients: "We see strong demand from clients operating in the region for the same top class custody solutions they receive in Europe. We are very excited about bringing our service suite and considerable experience to Hong Kong, as we continue to expand our Asian footprint."


About BNP Paribas Securities Services

BNP Paribas Securities Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group, delivering independent flexibility and commitment, backed by the strength of a leading universal bank.

Operating across the investment cycle, BNP Paribas Securities Services provides post-trade administration solutions to buy-side and sell-side financial institutions and issuers. The Bank has a local presence across 25 countries and global coverage of over 100 markets, offering a one-stop shop for all asset classes, both onshore and offshore, across the globe.

With EUR 3.34 trillion (USD 4.65 trillion) assets under custody, EUR 565 billion (USD 786 billion) assets under administration and close to 6,000 funds administered^, BNP Paribas Securities Services is the Eurozone's leading securities services provider and number five worldwide by assets under custody.


About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the 6 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's*. With a presence in 85 countries and more than 205,000 employees, 165,200 of which in Europe, BNP Paribas is a global-scale European leader in financial services. It holds key positions in its three activities: Retail banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. The Group benefits from its four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.


^ As at 31 December 2008
* Within its peer group