BNP Paribas hires Peter Cooke to head its Legal team in the Americas
BNP Paribas announces the hire of Peter Cooke to serve as General Counsel for its Corporate and Institutional Bank (CIB) in the Americas and for BNP Paribas USA, its intermediate holding company (IHC) housing the Bank’s retail and wholesale operations in the United States.
Mr. Cooke will be based in New York and will report globally to Georges Dirani, Group General Counsel based in Paris, and regionally to Jean-Yves Fillion, CEO of BNP Paribas USA and Head of Americas CIB. Mr. Cooke will lead the legal department across North and Latin America for CIB, as well as oversee external counsel. He takes over the department from the previous General Counsel, Betty Whelchel, who was appointed Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the United States earlier this year.
Speaking about Mr. Cooke, Mr. Dirani stated: “Peter’s deep understanding of capital markets and banking combined with his exceptional leadership make him the ideal fit for the Bank in servicing the multi-faceted needs of our client deals and transactions.”
Mr. Fillion added, “I trust that Peter will help us further our regional ambitions to provide our clients with best-in-class service across CIB Americas and Bank of the West.”
Mr. Cooke joins the Bank having previously served as General Counsel for General Electric’s Corporate Treasury. Prior to that, he had also worked at Bear Stearns & Co. where he was International and Derivatives General Counsel. A member of the New York State bar, Mr. Cooke holds a law degree from Leicester University in England.
BNP Paribas has built a strong and diversified presence in the United States to support its client base. The bank employs over 16,000 people and has had a presence in the USA since the late 1800s. Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank (together BancWest, part of Retail Banking & Services) serve nearly 3.5 million individual, wealth and SME clients through a branch network of more than 650 branches and business centers. Large corporate and institutional clients are serviced by BNP Paribas’ Corporate & Institutional Banking franchise that has a presence in the main US cities, in addition to a global reach through a network of offices in EMEA and APAC. The bank also offers asset management services through BNP Paribas Investment Partners (part of Retail Banking & Services) as well as Real Estate and Fleet Services through partnerships.
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 75 countries, with more than 189,000 employees, including more than 146,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realize their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
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