BNP Paribas Securities Services agreed to acquire the Third Party Depo Bank business for fund of hedge funds from RasBank, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAS Group S.p.A., part of the Allianz Group.
Upon completion of the transaction, BNP Paribas will consolidate its market position in the field of Depo Bank services, increasing assets under administration to 9.8 billion. The deal is expected to be finalised on Oct. 31 and is subject to approval from the regulatory authorities and the formal acceptance of RasBank’s clients. BNP Paribas and RasBank will join efforts during the transition, to minimise client impact.
BNP Paribas is offering a position to all 11 staff within the RasBank third party FoHF office. Each of the staff will relocate to BNP Paribas’ premises in Milan over the coming months in line with the migration of clients’ portfolios following regulatory approvals.
The product line and client group being acquired by BNP Paribas is the third party FoHF Depo Bank service, which RasBank has successfully developed in recent years.
“The fund of hedge funds industry in Italy is growing rapidly and the acquisition of RasBank Banca Depositaria business, which covers 57 funds, was a very attractive opportunity to expand our strong presence in Italy,”says Mauro Dognini, deputy head of BNP Paribas Securities Services Milan. “BNP Paribas Securities Services consolidates its position in Italy with more than 350 people employed in Milan and assets under custody in excess of 300 billion. This acquisition is another major confirmation of the strong commitment of BNP Paribas to provide securities services to Italian institutional investors, and to asset managers and pension funds in particular.”
Alessandro Gioffreda, General Manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services Milan, adds, “Once the clients have transitioned to our systems the scope of services offered to them will greatly increase to include fund administration, hedge fund and forex execution and transfer agency services, providing clients with a truly integrated solution.”
On a global level, BNP Paribas says their alternative fund servicing business has grown steadily for many years across both onshore and offshore markets. Prior to this acquisition from RasBank, BNP Paribas globally administered more than 330 funds of hedge funds with a value of 27 billion.
“The acquisition of RasBank’s third party FoHF Depo Bank is exactly in line with our alternative funds strategy of servicing both onshore and offshore funds,” says Chris Adams, global product head of alternative funds at BNP Paribas Securities. “This transaction, bringing both high-quality clients and highly capable staff, enhances BNP Paribas’ leadership position in Europe and increases the scope of our global offering.”