BNP Paribas Expands Coverage of Financial and Official Institutions in North America


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - January 27, 2011) - BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking is pleased to announce the growth of its North American Client Coverage Group and establishment of the Official Institutions Coverage team for the Americas.

Tim Bitsberger joins BNP Paribas as managing director to create and lead the Official Institutions Coverage team for the Americas, based in New York. In this role, his focus will be to serve the global needs of central banks, sovereign wealth funds, government agencies, government sponsored enterprises, and supranationals. Tim reports to Véronique Ormezzano, head of Official Institutions Coverage in Paris, and to Joe Malley, head of North American Financial Institutions Group in New York. 

Tim joins BNP Paribas after serving in a number of private sector and government appointed roles. Tim served as the Treasurer of Freddie Mac from 2006-2008. Prior to this, he worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2001 to 2005, first as deputy assistant secretary and then as the assistant secretary for financial markets. In these presidential appointments, his many accomplishments included expansion of the TIPS program, a new auction system and the reintroduction of the 30-year bond. Prior to his Treasury appointments, Tim worked on Wall Street for more than 15 years, primarily as a trading manager and fixed-income and derivative trader. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) since 2008. 

Mike Albanese joins as a managing director in the Financial Institutions Group reporting to Joe Malley, covering insurers and reinsurers. Mike joins BNP Paribas from Swiss Re where he was head of Business Development for the Americas. Prior, he held senior level positions at both Deutsche Bank and AM Best Company. He has 25 years of experience in the market as an advisor to insurers on corporate finance, capital management and structured finance matters. The Financial Institutions Group is focused on serving the long-term, multinational financing, advisory and risk management needs of banks and insurers. The platform includes a full spectrum of debt, equity and risk management products as well as traditional financing.

"Official Institutions throughout the world play a major role promoting domestic and international financial stability and market confidence," said Véronique Ormezzano. "Understanding the interaction between public policy, reserve management, and the capital markets creates new challenges for these institutions. BNP Paribas is well positioned to support their increased needs through its active engagement with Official Institutions worldwide and its expanded capabilities in the Americas."

Joe Malley added, "We are excited to have Tim and Mike with BNP Paribas and we plan to continue to add skilled sector specialists as we further customize our expanded array of capabilities to meet the needs of our clients." 

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking employs over 20,000 people in over 50 countries and services 13,000 corporate and institutional clients worldwide.

BNP Paribas CIB excels in:

Derivatives - where it is one of the leading global players in rates, credit, forex, commodity and equity derivatives
Capital markets - where it is one of the top European houses in both ECM and DCM (bond, securitization, convertibles and equity issuance)
Structured finance - where it is amongst the leaders in acquisition, export, project, energy and commodity finance globally

www.cib.bnpparibas.com

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the six strongest banks in the world* and the largest bank in the eurozone by deposits. With a presence in more than 80 countries and about 200,000 employees, including 160,000 in Europe, BNP Paribas is a leading European provider of financial services on a worldwide scale. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Retail Banking, the Group has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the United States. BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending in Europe. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
*Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating on a scale of 22.

Contact Information:

Press contacts:
Michele Sicard
Head of Corporate Communications, New York
212.841.3070

Megan Stinson
Media Relations, New York
212.841.3809