BNP to launch European power trading desk

BNP Paribas today said it plans to start a European powertrading desk as part of its energy and commodity business.

The team will comprise three traders based in London who will report to Jean-Marc Bonnefous, global head of commodity indexed transactions at BNP in New York.

A BNP spokeswoman refused to name the traders, but said all three would be external appointments. She added that BNP plans to begin trading later this year and will at first concentrate on the French, German and UK power markets.

The team will be part of BNP’s energy, commodities, exportand project division, which employs around 750 peopleglobally of which 100 work in commodity price riskmanagement in London and New York. BNP currently trades gas, crude oil and base metals.

In May last year BNP hired two energy derivatives traders from JP Morgan Chase, signalling its plans to build up its energy derivatives business. Larry Felske joined BNP’s commodity-indexed transactions group as a director of natural gas options trading in New York, and Olivier Knight joins BNP’s London desk as an oil products derivatives trader.