BNP Paribas prime brokerage boss Wilson leaves for rival UBS

Bloomberg

The head of BNP Paribas SA’s business catering to hedge-fund clients has left for UBS Group AG, a blow for the French bank as it attempts to build out the division.
Ashley Wilson, head of prime finance at BNP Paribas, will become head of financing at Zurich-based UBS’ global markets division, according to people familiar with the matter. He had joined as part of a much-heralded 2019 deal that saw Deutsche Bank AG transfer clients and technology to the Paris-based lender.
The move is a window into the different issues facing the banks’ prime-brokerage units, which focus specifically on hedge funds by lending them securities and cash for trades. Paris-based BNP Paribas is trying to become one of the world’s biggest players in the business, which is dominated by US lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. UBS, meanwhile, lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year on trades with Archegos Capital Management LP, a debacle that roiled the industry.
Nicolas Marque, head of global equities at BNP Paribas, will manage the bank’s prime-brokerage business until it appoints
a successor, spokesman Richard Lindsay said.
“Ashley and his team have, this year, successfully completed the integration of Deutsche Bank’s prime-broking unit, helping BNP Paribas create the leading global prime services
offering,” Lindsay said.
Ian Maynard, the current head of financing at UBS, is retiring, the people said. Hana Dunn, a spokeswoman for the Swiss bank in London, declined to comment.
Wilson is an industry veteran, having worked at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc before joining Deutsche Bank in 2014. He rose to become co-head of the division holding the German lender’s unwanted assets — including its prime-brokerage business — and was involved in the shifting of the business to BNP Paribas.
The implosion of Archegos, a family office controlled by Bill Hwang, occurred in the middle of that transition. Wilson helped oversee large trades that allowed Deutsche Bank to avoid significant losses on its relationship with the firm. UBS disclosed in April 2021 a $861 million hit from the implosion of the family office. Nomura Holdings Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG lost even more.