BNP Paribas has signed a letter of intent to buy a portfolio of structured products linked to hedge funds from New York-based Zurich Capital Markets, an arm of the troubled Swiss insurer, Zurich Financial Services (Zurich). The deal includes staff.
For BNP Paribas, which has established a niche in structured funds of funds products in Europe, the purchase will facilitate entry into the US market. “The transaction will accelerate BNP Paribas’s development in the U.S. equity derivatives market,” says a spokesman for the French bank. “It is in line with BNP Paribas strategy to make targeted developments in the U.S in order to accelerate growth in business lines where the Group is already recognized worldwide.”