One of BNP Paribas' star bankers, who headed its thriving credit structuring business before the financial crisis hit and has continued to be active since, has left, Financial News has learned.

Hervé Besnard was well-known as the French investment bank's head of credit structuring, and was influential in bringing some innovative structures to market. He was named among Financial News' Rising Stars, a list of the most influential in European capital markets under 40, in 2007, when he worked on the bank's credit structured products at the height of the structured credit boom.