BNP Paribas is betting that an aggressive expansion at Exane BNP Paribas, a cash-equities joint venture between the investment company and the bank, will help to lift its equity capital markets business into the top five in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The move comes against the backdrop of the fallout from the second iteration of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which is forcing some investment banks to scale back on their teams of research analysts.