BNP Paribas has launched a dealing service in the UK to provide local institutional investors with access to its global network of dealing teams covering all asset classes.
The broker neutral, institutional outsourced dealing service provides buy side investors with access to capital markets by offering the dealing architecture. It seeks to replace the old model, featuring dealing desks imbedded within asset management companies or wealth managers, for example, by offering these companies an outsourced dealing desk, explained Carl James, global head of Fixed Income and FX Dealing, who takes on an additional role as managing director of BNP Paribas Dealing Services UK. “We offer our services to anyone engaged in capital markets, including asset managers, hedge fund managers, insurance companies and family offices,” he said.
The UK launch builds on the service BNP Paribas currently provides in Paris and in Hong Kong.
“Looking at the size of assets managed in the UK we want to ensure clients can engage with us directly in this location,” said James. “However, we do have clients looking for a geographical split whereby they can put all their Asia flows from their European office to Dealing Services Hong Kong desk. Clients can send all their trading to the desk or partial delegate; where they can outsource their dealing for a specific asset class or time zone.”
James cites the increasing market complexity in terms of liquidity fragmentation driven by multiple trading venues; the increasing globalization of markets; costs (including people, systems and market data); and a drive from clients to get the best trading result as the drivers of the new dealing service for the UK.
He said: “The raft of legislation – including MiFID II and Dodd Frank – is driving change on dealing technology and market infrastructure. As a result, markets are becoming more complex to trade in and are massively fragmented in terms of liquidity. It is the job of dealer to find liquidity in the most effective and efficient way, utilizing both their experience of markets and knowledge of the available technology to demonstrate best outcome for the client. Dealing Services has both the people and technology to offer this to clients.”
James McAleenan, head of UK for BNP Paribas Securities Services, added: “The Dealing Services offer comes at a time when investment firms are facing mounting regulatory pressure. They see rising dealing technology costs, and face increasing challenges for their executions due to increasing market complexity, resulting in scarcity of liquidity and wider spreads. With our solution, clients keep their existing broker panel and relationships, but at the same time improving efficiency and cutting costs.”