[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

BNP Paribas is taking a different direction from cuts by banking peers Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and Nomura totaling 30,000, 1,900 and hundreds of jobs respectively.  In contrast, France's biggest bank has launched a 5-year plan as it seeks to manage more money for wealthy people in the world’s largest economy, says Sofia Merlo, co- head of wealth management at Paris-based BNP Paribas.

The bank suffered from a liquidity crunch, especially in U.S. dollars, and losses on Greek sovereign debt.  To compensate, the lender sold some U.S. corporate-and investment-banking assets to reduce its short-term dollar funding needs. In February, the bank agreed to sell about $9.5 billion of North American energy assets to Wells Fargo & Co.

Phoenix Rising. This fall, however, the lender has combined trust, brokerage and private-banking at its Bank of the West unit.  The subsidiary manages about $10 billion, more than two-thirds in brokerage accounts, said John Bahnken, head of wealth management at the unit.  "We came to the conclusion that given the client base and changing regulatory environment, it was important to provide wealth management" for U.S. clients, he said.

What Wealthy Customers Get

• Investment advice and services related to business succession, retirement, real estate, art and philanthropy
• Managing wealth provides noninterest income, entails less risk than more capital-intensive businesses, and allows the lender to better meet the capital rules outlined by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
• The benefit of 55 private-client advisers, up from 25 last year

The Tip of an Iceberg? The company’s U.S. plans are part of the company's larger strategy to expand in smaller markets like Turkey, Poland, and Morocco, where it also has large retail branch networks. Other additions include markets throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Italy, Ms. Merlo said.

For further details, go to [Bloomberg, 9/12/12].