BNP Paribas said it plans to hire equity analysts, traders and sales people from the Tokyo office of Belgium's KBC which is closing down its Japanese operations.
KBC in November had pledged a sharp downsizing of merchant banking and other divestments in return for receiving Belgian state aid.
BNP Paribas, which already has macro economic and fixed income teams, plans to expand its equity and equity derivatives business in Japan.
"We are completing our equity platform by adding equity research distribution capabilities," Daniel Boyd, a BNP Paribas spokesman said today.
The company did not specify how many people would be hired, saying only that it would be a significant number.
BNP Paribas' Japan unit last month was fined by the Tokyo Stock Exchange for its involvement in a convertible bond sale in 2008.
BNP Paribas in 2008 arranged 30 billion yen (€243 million) in financing for property firm Urban Corp, but did not disclose the full terms of the transaction to the market for a month, during which time Urban collapsed under debt.
Reuters