Traders are departing BNP Paribas in anticipation of bonus disappointment
As we reflected last week, bonuses at BNP Paribas may not be the best this year. Some traders at the bank seem to have reached that conclusion themselves.
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At least two vice president (VP) level are traders have left in recent weeks, before bonuses are announced at the end of this month.
They include Dmitri Petrov, a former emerging markets rates trader at the bank, who’s gone to hedge fund Alphadyne Asset Management, and Reza Vahdati, a CEEMEA rates trader who’s thought to have gone to JPMorgan.
BNP Paribas declined to comment on the moves. Sources at the bank said the exits precede what is expected to be a disappointing bonus season. “Bonuses this year aren’t expected to be better than last year, so why wait?,” said one trader. ” – It makes sense to move now for a big package rather than wait around and lose half the next financial year.”
BNP’s fixed income traders had a strong 2023 until the final quarter, when their revenues fell 13% year-on-year. The bank blamed this on, “more normalised” revenues “from a very high 3Q22 base in rates and foreign-exchange markets and particularly in commodities.”
In our end of year bonus expectations survey, BNP traders said they were expecting an increase of 9%.
BNP is thought to have made a hire from Nomura to replace one of the traders who’s left.
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