BNP Paribas opens Miami office

BNP Paribas Securities Corp. officially opened its Miami office on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by bank officials and local government dignitaries.

“Adding Miami as a key location for our corporate and institutional banking business will be an important part in getting closer to our many clients in the South Florida area and servicing their needs more efficiently,” said José Placido, chief executive officer of BNP Paribas USA.

“Today’s Miami office opening expands our business in the U.S., notably our global markets business, and supports our global growth ambitions,” Placido said.

BNP’s aim is to create best-in-class platforms and products for its rising number of Miami-area clients and will focus on equities, credit and macro-global markets products.

The Miami office is expected to create up to 50 full-time professional jobs in South Florida over the next year.

“We’re very happy to officially open our brand new office in Miami today,” Matt O’Connor, head of the office, said Wednesday. “We look forward to this new beginning, with a sustainably designed office and also developing a bigger partnership with the vibrant greater Miami community.”

BNP first announced its plans to open a Miami office in January, and in August the bank named O’Connor as office head and Annabella Espina as the chief operating officer.

The location, at 801 Brickell Avenue in Miami’s financial hub, can accommodate a growing staff and visiting clients.

“BNP Paribas choosing Miami to open its newest office reinforces our community’s status as a top financial market within the global economy,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

“We’re proud to work with partners like the Miami-Dade Beacon Council to not only attract leaders like BNP Paribas to our market, but also help them tap into local talent and engage in our thriving business ecosystem. We look forward to having another of the largest banks in the world call Miami-Dade home,” she said.

“BNP Paribas’ expansion to Miami is a direct outgrowth of our long-standing relationship with France, French companies and the French people,” said Rodrick Miller, president and CEO of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council. “We [have] heard consistently that Miami is the market where French companies are investing and want to be — and our relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean sealed Miami as the clear choice for BNP Paribas, Europe’s largest bank.”

Raphaël Trapp, Consul General of France in Miami said the office symbolizes the economic ties between France and Florida.

“It is, above all, a good indicator of the dynamism that characterizes business in South Florida thanks to the work done jointly by private and public partners for several years,” Trapp said.

“Should this economic trend continue over time, it would allow the expansion of BNP Paribas’ office and the creation of more qualified jobs in Miami. It would also consolidate the position of France which is, currently, in the Top 4 of foreign employers in Florida with more than 400 companies and 32, 700 jobs created by French companies,” he added.

As BNP continues to grow in the South Florida region, the Miami office will work closely with the bank’s other sites in New York City, Jersey City and Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.