Conor Davis is hiring. Financial News reported this week that Davis, who was fired from Citi in February 2024 before joining BNP Paribas in August, is adding 60 salespeople as he seeks to grow the equities business globally. 36 of his hires will be in the US.
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While Davis is hiring, though, BNP is losing other senior figures from its equities team. Paul Reynolds, the London-based global head of advisory for the cash equities business, has disappeared and is understood to be retiring. Reynolds joined in 2023 from Deutsche Bank, where he was the EMEA head of equity research for a decade.
BNP Paribas declined to comment on Reynolds’ exit. It’s understood that he’s being replaced by Theepan Jothilingam, BNP’s former head of equity research. The global head of advisory covers research, specialist sales and corporate access.
Bloomberg reported today that BNP is also hiring “dozens” of software engineers to join an “army of 500 coders” building its prime broking platform within its equities business. Financial News says the bank has a three-year €100m tech investment budget, which it began spending in 2023.
The French bank has big aspirations. Ashley Wilson, BNP’s global head of prime services, told Bloomberg he intends to achieve $700m in prime balances within the medium term. Davis’ 60 new hires are intended to sell the BNP’s broad equities platform, which increased revenues 42% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Davis was a popular guy at Citi. He may need to flex that popularity at BNP Paribas – there are complaints that morale is low in the cash equities business, which has some senior gaps to fill.
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