It’s now seen as the right thing to do. We’ve never sold enhanced cash in Australia – only the normal money market banking rate. It’s been a different approach which has served us well.” Marson’s latest visit, last month, coincided with the announcement that BNP would take over the previously outsourced global custody role, from Australia, with Citi. The Citi arrangement, inherited through BNP’s purchase of Cogent in 2002 and maintenance of the key AMP Capital client relationship, is being transitioned with BNP’s Singapore office opening the accounts which had previously been with Citi in Hong Kong.

The Sydney office has a formal global custody agreement and corresponding services level agreement with the Singapore office. Jean-Marc Pasquet, BNP’s Sydneybased head of Asia Pacific, said having the same platform enabled the custodian to provide a known quality service with many benefits for clients as well as a demonstration that BNP Paribas was committed to developing and expanding in Asia Pacific. The firm plans to be operational in eight to 10 key centres in the region by 2013. It opened the Singapore office in 2007, Mumbai and Hong Kong offices last year and a joint venture in India “We see China, Taiwan and South Korea also as markets with strong potential for both us and our clients,” Marson said.