As BNP Paribas cuts, senior FICC professional moves into risk and regulation

If you're a recruiter in risk management and regulation, you will know that the ideal hire is someone who has front office sales and trading experience and an appetite for working in risk. You will also know that this kind of person can be hard to find. Kara Lemont Sportelli, the new head of global market risk and regulatory affairs at BNP Paribas is therefore a rare and precious thing.

Before she moved into risk and regulation in April, Lemont Sportelli spent most of her 28 year banking career in fixed income structuring. Since joining BNP Paribas in 2004 she's been head of fixed income structuring and global co-head of fixed income advisory and strategic transformation.

Lemont Sportelli's move into the 'middle office' could have something to do with BNP Paribas's layoffs. The French bank is reportedly in the process of making 100 people redundant, predominantly in fixed income sales and trading. In the circumstances, risk and regulation looks like a good place to be. Lemont Sportelli's lateral move is unlikely to be the last of its kind.