BNP Paribas Securities Services names Philippe Benoît APAC head

Predecessor Lawrence Au remains with the bank.

BNP Paribas Securities Services, a leading global custodian with around US$9 trillion in assets under custody, recently announced the appointment of Philippe Benoît as head of the Asia Pacific region, effective 1 January 2016.

According to a release from BNP Paribas, Philippe Benoît is based in Hong Kong and is responsible for continuing to grow the securities services business in Asia Pacific, which has more than tripled its assets under custody over the past five years.

BNP Paribas Securities Services is now present in eight markets in the region - Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore - where it employs close to 2,000 people.

Philippe Benoît succeeds Lawrence Au who remains with the bank as Executive Advisor as he starts his retirement planning. In this new role, Lawrence Au will have strategic oversight on selected key client relationships in the region and act as executive sponsor for key projects in Greater China.

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Patrick Colle, General Manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services, commented: “Our business in Asia Pacific is growing fast. Market participants are increasingly turning to us to help them adapt to the region’ s changing market landscape, which is being transformed by initiatives such as the RMB internationalisation, pension fund reforms and the various cross border fund passports. We see plenty more opportunities in the region as the landscape continues to evolve. Philippe’s role will be to seize these opportunities to take our business in Asia Pacific to the next level.”

Eric Raynaud, CEO of BNP Paribas in Asia Pacific, said: “Over the last five years, Lawrence has built a successful franchise in the region enabling BNP Paribas to become a fast growing market leader in the securities services sector. Philippe will play a key role in furthering these developments and continuing the business growth in Asia Pacific.”

Prior to the latest appointment, Philippe Benoît was Global Head of Finance, Legal and ALM Treasury for BNP Paribas Securities Services based in Paris. He joined BNP Paribas Securities Services in 2002 after spending eight years in the banking department of PWC, including two years in New York.