Deutsche Bank to transfer up to 800 to BNP in prime brokerage deal: source

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) - A deal in the works for BNP Paribas to assume the prime brokerage operations of Deutsche Bank will involve the transfer of up to 800 people, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Deutsche Bank said in July it had struck a preliminary agreement with BNP covering the business that serves hedge funds as part of its 7.4 billion euro ($8.2 billion) overhaul, but details on personnel and the timing of any final deal were being hammered out.

The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agreement may be finalised in coming weeks, confirming a report in the Financial Times.

BNP and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Deutsche Bank, which has said it aimed to conclude the effort this year, is eager to clinch a deal sooner rather than later to "provide continuity of service" to its clients.

Some clients have already left Deutsche in the meantime and Barclays is looking to take on a $20 billion portion of Deutsche's prime brokerage business, sources told Reuters last month.

Hedge fund clients have balances of close to $200 billion with Deutsche.

Most of the staff affected are based in London and New York. A successful deal with BNP will mean Deutsche won't have to pay redundancy for those individuals as it seeks to shed around 18,000 from its payroll globally.

(Reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt and Inti Landauro in Paris; Editing by Michelle Martin and David Holmes)