BNP Paribas to bulk up London front office by 600

French investment bank BNP Paribas is preparing for a wave of expansion in the UK, Germany and Spain.

Les Echos reports that the bank is planning to hire 600 front-office staff in London this year, an increase of about 10%, and another 600 next year.

BNP Paribas already has a significant presence in London and recently announced plans to expand into a new building in the City to accommodate its growing workforce.

As well as beefing up its existing businesses, including fixed-income, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, BNP Paribas plans to take up the slack in the German and Spanish markets, the Financial Times reports.

Jacques d'Estais, the new head of corporate and investment banking told the FT, "We don't fill the space that belongs to BNP Paribas [in Germany and Spain]. We should do better."

Hot on their heels in the UK are Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley, who have also announced plans to build their equity derivatives operations. Will there be enough front office talent to go around? Time will tell.