BNP Paribas Securities Services has appointed Lance Wargo as head of Securities Lending in North America.
Wargo, who will be based in New York, will be responsible for product development and operational strategy for BNP Paribas' securities lending solution in North America, particularly targeting institutional beneficial owners.
Wargo joins from Wells Fargo, where most recently he was head of trading and investments for securities lending.
At BNP Paribas, he will report to Christina Feicht, head of Market and Financing Services in North America, and John Arnesen, global head of Securities Lending based in London.
"We are delighted to welcome Lance and the team to BNP Paribas," Feicht says. "They each bring an in-depth understanding of the requirements of beneficial owners and the local product expertise. Their contributions are imperative to achieving our strategy in North America."
BNP Paribas says it imminently plans to launch its U.S. securities lending service, focused on agency lending. Last October it launched a U.S. sub-custody business, for which it hired Claudine Gallagher, formerly of J.P. Morgan Worldwide Securities Services, to run. It is the 25th sub-custody market for the firm.
Wargo is joined on the U.S. securities lending team by Michael Saunders, head of Trading and Investments; Richard Chen, Investment and Credit Analysis; Frank Souder, Investment and Risk Control; Amardeep Singh, IT Technical Leader; Mauricio Padilla, IT Business Analysis; and Travis Bartlett, Operations Specialist. BNP Paribas says it hired most of the team from Wells Fargo.