Global Custodian awards Lifetime Achievement honour to Patrick Colle

Recognising his 35-year career and influence within the custody industry throughout the world, BNP Paribas Securities Services’ general manager receives Lifetime Achievement award. 

By Jonathan Watkins

Global Custodian is pleased to announce that Patrick Colle, general manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services, has been honoured with this year’s Lifetime Achievement award. 

Colle, a 35-year veteran of the industry, has been at the helm of the ascending French-headquartered custodian for 15 years, significantly growing its presence around the world during that time.

“I’m very, very grateful because it’s a recognition of the journey of the collective [team]. I want to dedicate this award to my team, my 12,000 people team across the world, in a difficult period of COVID,” Colle said to Global Custodian, during the interview for his award. 

“We have been on a collective journey for the past 10 years. So, I’m pleased to take this as a recognition of the work we have accomplished together.” 

Under his guidance, the bank’s securities services operations have grown both East and West of its base, even daring to challenge the US custody space which has been historically dominated by the country’s domestic banks. 

Meanwhile in Asia-Pacific, BNP Paribas has gone from no presence to businesses in eight markets in the region under Colle’s leadership, with over 2,800 employees and new revenues and assets under custody records being set with each passing year. 

The bank has also built out its depositary, fund services and prime brokerage divisions in recent years, through organic growth and acquisitions like the takeover of Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage business back in 2019. 

In recent years, Colle has ensured the custodian has been at the forefront of innovation, environmental, social and governance (ESG), and data with product launches, acquisitions and FinTech partnerships across the board. 

“This is the mission we basically defined for ourselves 10 years ago, to turn BNP Paribas Securities Services into a truly global player,” Colle said to Global Custodian, during the interview for his award. “In fairness, 10 or even 11 years ago when I started in the role, we were very much a European player. Now we’ve made it into the top league as a true global player and size has followed. We’ve roughly doubled the size roughly doubled everything over the past 10 years. 

Prior to BNP Paribas, Colle spent 15 years at JP Morgan which he joined in 1986 and held several positions in cash management, securities clearing and custody in Paris and New York before becoming global head of ADRs in London in 2001.

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