Asset Deposits at BNP Paribas Exceed €1 Trillion

Assets held at BNP Paribas Securities Services depositary bank in Europe has reached over €1 trillion in its network covering 12 fund domiciles.

The bank expanded its depositary banking network in recent years in response to the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (AIFMD) and the incoming UCITS V regulation. It also acquired the depositary bank businesses of Commerzbank in Germany and Banco Popular in Spain.

Under AIFMD, alternative investment fund managers in Europe have to appoint a depositary bank to provide safekeeping, oversight and cash monitoring for their funds. The Ucits V regulation is expected to go live in early 2016 and will impose similar standards of asset and investor protection to all depositary banks in Europe.

“The shape of European regulation has changed incredibly in recent years, and we are being called upon by our clients more than ever to support them as they adapt to the new landscape. The expansion of our depositary bank is a great example of this,” says Arnaud Claudon, head of Depositary Banking, BNP Paribas Securities Services.