BNP Paribas Securities Services, which currently employs 125 people in Scotland, will receive a £3.7 million assistance grant for the expansion of its Scottish operations from Scotland's governing body, the Scottish Executive.

Around 270 of the new jobs will be created at the bank's new premises in the Aurora building in Glasgow's Bothwell Street - which was formerly occupied by the Scottish Enterprise. The remaining 100 will be created at BNP's operations in Dundee.

Staff at the two units will provide securities services - including outsourced investment management services - to fund managers and institutional investors.

Commenting on the expansion, Tony Solway, head of BNP Paribas Securities Services UK, says: "We have long established relationships with asset managers in Scotland and anticipate strong growth in our business in the coming years. This grant will enable us to support this growth in our operations centres in Glasgow and Dundee, accessing the local markets which are rich in talent."

BNP Paribas is the latest in a number of high-profile financial services firms to receive assistance grants to set up or expand operations in Scotland.

Last November US investment bank JPMorgan and payments processor First Data received grants from the The Scottish Executive to develop operations in Glasgow.

JPMorgan received £3 million in regional assistance to expand its European Technology Centre (ETC) in Glasgow while First Data got a £2.3 million assistance grant to open a new customer contact centre in Glasgow, which is expected to create more than 430 jobs in the city over the next five years.

Earlier in the year Morgan Stanley said it was creating a further 300 jobs at its Glasgow operations after receiving a £3.2 million assistance grant.