BNP Paribas Securities Services would like to comment on your article (I&T News, December 6) regarding our appointment as custodian to the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA).

We are delighted to have been appointed as ICWA’s custodian following a competitive tender process. However, we would like to point out a number of inaccuracies in your article: • ICWA has confirmed to us that its decision to appoint BNP Paribas Securities Services as custodian was not based on price, but on a determination that the high level of service and technology supporting our custody service was superior to that of our competition; • While we are committed to providing clients with value-for-money, we are not aggressively pricing business – our deal pricing is governed by global guidelines to ensure that certain profitability hurdles are met on all business written; • NSW Treasury Corporation has confirmed to us that it is not intending to review its custodial arrangements next year; and • Consistent with our strong growth, we have indeed increased staff numbers over the past year, however, such hiring has not been aggressive. We are receiving a huge number of unsolicited resumes from our competitors and other industry participants – feedback we receive in the market is that people want to be part of a successful and growing organisation. Gail Burke Managing director and head of Australasia BNP Paribas Securities Services