BNP Paribas hired a new head of high yield trading even though it already has one

BNP Paribas has quietly hired a new head of high yield trading in London. It is not clear what this means for the person who was already doing this job.

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BNP's new high yield trading head is Daniel Cohen, a man who has been the head of high yield trading at HSBC, Nomura and - from 2019 to the other week - Jefferies. Cohen already appears to be in his new seat at BNP in London. It's a homecoming of sorts: he worked at BNP as a mere trader between 2011 and 2013. 

While Cohen's return looks good for Cohen and may even have involved some sort of guaranteed bonus given Jefferies' punitive approach to clawing back bonuses (although there are equally rumours that Jefferies may have let him quietly walk away) it's less clear what it means for Alun Sheppard. 

BNP hired Sheppard from JPMorgan in 2021 to be head of high yield and loans trading in Europe. He's still there and last year was building his team. And yet Cohen seems to have a similar job title. 

BNP declined to comment. 

It's not unheard of for banks to hire someone to do the role of an existing member of staff. Deutsche Bank had a reputation for doing it under Anshu Jain, when senior people would suddenly find someone else doing their job and be expected to compete to retain it. French banks have, however, historically been more genteel. 

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