Lawrence Au has stepped down as head of Asia Pacific for BNP Paribas Securities Services and will become an advisor for the bank on key client relationships as he transitions to retirement. He has been replaced by Philippe Benoit who will also based in Hong Kong.
Au has had a career in investor services for more than 20 years, starting with the former Chase Manhattan Bank in Hong Kong in 1994. He went on to senior roles at Bank of New York and Northern Trust before moving to head up BNP in Hong Kong in 2010.
The BNP role covers eight offices in the region – Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. The firm’s assets under custody in Asia Pacific have more than tripled over the past five years. It employs about 2,000 people regionally. David Braga, who heads up Australia and New Zealand, reports to the Hong Kong regional office.
Philippe Benoît was most recently global head of finance, legal and ALM treasury for BNP Paribas Securities Services based in Paris. He joined the company in 2002 after spending eight years in the banking department of PwC, including two years in New York.
Patrick Colle, Paris-based general manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “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.”
* Greg Bright is publisher of Investor Strategy News (Australia)