BNP Paribas Securities Services, the custody arm of the French bank, has completed its acquisition of Cogent, the dedicated outsourcing and fund administration business based in London.

The deal gives the French bank a big leg-up in the UK custody market, on which Cogent is predominantly focused. It means the bank now owns a business that holds €201bn ($199bn) under administration on behalf of 70 fund managers and has substantial operations in London, Luxembourg, Dublin and Australasia.