BNP Paribas Earns "Top Rated" and Best in Class Accolades in North America by Global Custodian's 2012 Hedge Fund Administration Survey


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 6, 2012) - BNP Paribas announced today that its Securities Services business in North America was among the highest ranked in Global Custodian's 17th annual Hedge Fund Administration survey. The survey polled industry clients on their hedge fund administration service providers.

In the 2012 survey, service providers were judged based on 69 rating questions across the following service areas: client service, value, fund accounting and valuation, audit support, investor services, reporting to investors, reporting to fund managers, compliance and taxation, corporate administration, fund structuring, fund of funds administration, middle-office services, registered alternative products and technology. The results of the survey bestowed "Top-Rated" status on the North American division of BNP Paribas Securities Services, scoring higher than the average reported results of other administrators. Overall, the division was rated Best in Class (BIC) in all service categories on the survey.

Commenting on the results, Claudine Gallagher, Regional Head of Securities Services North America at BNP Paribas said, "Our success can be attributed to the strength of our excellence in client service -- the timeliness, accuracy, and consistency of our service capabilities, to echo clients comments expressed in the survey. We place clients at the heart of what we do, so I'm delighted to see evidence of that commitment shine through this survey."

"The achievement in North America is a realization of benefits delivered through our major investment program to expand hedge fund and fund of hedge fund administration services (announced January 2012) and speaks to the maturity of our unique asset servicing capabilities," said Chris Adam, Head of Hedge Fund Solutions at BNP Paribas Securities Services in New York.

BNP Paribas was additionally awarded "Commended" status in both the European and global market categories.

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees, including more than 150,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.

About BNP Paribas Securities Services

BNP Paribas Securities Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group, is a leading global custodian and securities services provider backed by a strong universal bank (rated AA- by Standard and Poor's). It provides integrated solutions to all participants in the investment cycle including the buy-side, sell-side, corporates and issuers.

The bank has a local presence in 32 countries across five continents, effecting global coverage of more than 100 markets. It partners with clients to help overcome complexity, while offering a one-stop shop for all asset classes, both onshore and offshore, around the world.

Key figures as at 30 September 2011: USD 6,362 billion of assets under custody, USD 1,128 billion of assets under administration, more than 6,500 administered funds and 7200 employees.