EUROPE - BNP Paribas Securities Services has gained more than £30bn (€44bn) in custody assets with an agreement to acquire RBS International Securities Services.

RBS International Securities Services is a 70-30 joint venture between the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of New York. Financial terms were not disclosed.

RBS International Securities Services is active in the UK offshore markets of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It has 176 staff and has more than £30bn under custody and £6.2bn under administration.

The assets will join BNP Paribas' existing €3.6trn in custody assets and the €623bn it has under administration.

BNP Paribas is offering jobs to all staff and added it would be "business as usual during the transition and on completion of the acquisition". The deal will complete once regulatory approvals are in place.

"As part of our global growth strategy and our commitment to servicing clients, RBS International Securities Services stood out as an attractive opportunity to reinforce our position in the buoyant UK offshore market, and further answer clients' growing needs in this arena," said Jacques-Philippe Marson, chief executive of BNP Paribas Securities Services.

Ian Henderson, chief executive of RBS International, commented: "Our Securities Services division has been a successful business for the Bank but it is a specialist sector and our strategy is to concentrate on our core business strengths."

Tim Keaney, head of global investor services at the Bank of New York, added: "Now is the right time for the business to move to the next level under the sole ownership of BNP Paribas. Our focus will continue to be on our institutional client base and on the offshore markets of Luxembourg and Ireland, together with the continued development of our business in continental Europe."