BNP Paribas may be taking over Fortis, but in asset management in Asia, the reality may look like the reverse when inevitable job cuts result. BNP Paribas has already worked out the numbers of positions they plan to cut from the business, sources with direct knowledge of the matter say.
Local business heads at BNP Paribas were briefed of the decisions and told to arrive at their respective integration plans overnight yesterday. “The message is: as long as these Fortis guys are not in Belgium, they are out,” a source summarises of the group meet. He says the management expects the final vote would do little to alter the sale process.
In asset management, however, a reverse takeover by Fortis is on the cards, at least in Asia. Fortis Investments, which only completed its integration of ABN Amro’s asset management business on April 1, 2008, will again be thrown into chaos as it absorbs BNP Paribas Investment Partners’ headcount in the region. However, redundancies in overlapping functions will most likely come from BNP Paribas, which has a smaller headcount and lesser profile (especially among sales staff, with most institutional sales having less experience) than Fortis in Asia.
For more details please visit Asian Investor’s web site.
D.C.