BNP Paribas snaps up West LB trader for high yield expansion

BNP Paribas has appointed ex-West LB credit trader Alvaro Ballesteros as part of its drive to further its growth in the European high yield market.

He joins BNP Paribas in London as a senior high yield trader and will work under the bank’s head of European flow credit trading, Pierre Mathieu. Ballesteros worked primarily on trading European corporates rated below BBB during his four-year stint at West LB, and has also worked at Bank of New York.

The move follows two other appointments in BNP Paribas’ European high yield division earlier this year. Douglas Clarisse joined as a director from ABN Amro in June, and Alain Dib was appointed deputy head of European high-yield capital markets from Deutsche Bank in September.

Eric Dumas, global head of flow credit trading at BNP Paribas, welcomed Ballesteros to the team: “Hiring Alvaro, who has extensive experience in trading sub-investment grade companies, will help us further develop our expertise in this area.”