Credit Suisse is set to refer its prime services and derivatives clearing customers to French banking giant BNP Paribas. Both the parties have signed a referral agreement. This follows the Swiss lender’s decision to exit prime broking and some derivatives businesses after the Archegos scandal.
In a statement, BNP Paribas said, “Credit Suisse will support affected customers as they select alternative Prime Services providers of their choice. Should customers seek to benefit from the referral agreement between BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse, there will be a streamlined process in place to facilitate them obtaining Prime Services from BNP Paribas, under its terms.”
Earlier this year, BNP Paribas appointed Ashley Wilson as the global head of prime services and has also been named as the deputy head of Prime Solutions and financing, along with Kieron Smith.
Wilson previously worked with Deutsche Bank where he worked as the managing director in their Global Prime Finance business.
In his latest role, Wilson will be globally responsible for Prime Brokerage, Inventory Management and Electronic Execution activities. He is based out of London and reports to Raphael Masgnaux, Global Head of Prime Solutions and Financing (PS&F) & G10 Rates, and to Nicolas Marque, Global Head of Equity Derivatives and Head of Global Markets for Continental Europe.
Tha appointment is regarded as a key milestone in the integration of Deutsche Bank’s Global Prime Finance and Electronic Equities business along with BNP Paribas’ commitment to creating a global top five prime services provider.