BNP Paribas
Template:Short description Template:Merging from Template:Merging from Template:Merging from Template:Merging from Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox company
BNP Paribas (Template:IPA; sometimes referred to as BNPP, Paribas or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial institutions, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It also incorporates many other major institutions through successive acquisitions, including Fortis Bank in Belgium, Direkt Anlage Bank in Germany, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in Italy, Banque Générale du Luxembourg in Luxembourg, and Türk Ekonomi Bankası in Turkey. The group has also been present in the United States through its subsidiaries Bank of the West until 2023 and First Hawaiian Bank until 2019. With 190,000 employees, the bank is organized into three major business areas: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services (CPBS); Investment & Protection Services (IPS); and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB).
BNP Paribas is listed on Euronext Paris and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the second largest bank in Europe and eighth largest bank in the world by total assets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It became one of the five largest banks in the world following the 2008 financial crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the Forbes Global 2000, BNP Paribas was ranked as the 33rd largest public company in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervision in late 2014, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Although a French banking group, the Belgian government has been a significant shareholder since 2009 (with 5.3% equity ownership as of mid-2023)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as a result of the group's acquisition of Fortis Bank Belgium, heir to the Société Générale de Belgique established in 1822.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Creation of BNP Paribas Group
In 1999, BNP and Société Générale fought a complex battle on the stock market,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with Société Générale bidding for Paribas and BNP bidding for Société Générale and counter-bidding for Paribas. BNP's bid for Société Générale failed, while its bid for Paribas succeeded, which led to a merger of BNP and Paribas one year later on 23 May 2000.
In 2006, BNP Paribas purchased Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), Italy's sixth-largest bank. On 9 August 2007, BNP Paribas became the first major financial group to acknowledge the impact of the sub-prime crisis by closing two funds exposed to it. This day is now generally seen as the start of the 2008 financial crisis and the bank's quick reaction saved it from the fate of other large European banks such as UBS.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008 financial crisis & acquisitions
On 6 October 2008, BNP took over 75% of troubled bank Fortis' activities in Belgium, and 66% in Luxembourg, in exchange for the Belgian government becoming the new group's major shareholder. The sales of the Fortis shares was suspended by a court order from the Court of Appeal on Friday, 12 December.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the end of January, the Belgian government and BNP negotiated for a 75% partnership in Fortis Bank Belgium. Fortis Insurance Belgium would be reintegrated in Fortis Holding.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 11 February, Fortis' shareholders decided that Fortis Bank Belgium and Fortis Insurance Belgium should not become the property of BNP Paribas. However, the acquisition was completed, and BNP Paribas took 75% shareholding and renamed the new subsidiary BNP Paribas Fortis. After this only Fortis Insurance International was left in Fortis Holding and this was renamed as Ageas, a business that had Insurance all over Europe and Asia. In April 2024, it was announced BNP Paribas had acquired Fosun International's entire 9% stake in Ageas, worth €730 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The remaining Fortis Bank Netherlands was in the hands of the Dutch Government which merged it with other ABN AMRO holdings it already owned under the name ABN AMRO.
In May 2009, BNP Paribas became the majority shareholder (65.96%) of BGL (formerly Fortis Bank Luxembourg), the State of Luxembourg retaining 34% making BNP the eurozone's largest bank by deposits held.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 21 September, the bank's registered name was changed to BGL BNP Paribas and in February 2010, BGL BNP Paribas became the 100% owner of BNP Paribas Luxembourg. The transfer was finalised on 1 October 2010 with the incorporation of BNP Paribas Luxembourg's business in the operational platforms of BGL BNP Paribas.<ref name=history>"The history of Fortis BGL BNP Paribas" Template:Webarchive, BGL BNP Paribas. Retrieved 9 September 2011</ref>
Post-financial crisis expansion
BNP Paribas reached an agreement in December 2013 to acquire Rabobank's Polish unit BGZ Bank for around $1.4 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013 BNP Paribas was awarded the Bank of the Year award by The International Financing Review ("IFR"), Thomson Reuters' leading financial industry publication.<ref name="ifre.com">Mullin, Keith. (15 February 2012) Bank of the Year: BNP Paribas | All Special Reports Template:Webarchive. IFRe. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.</ref><ref name="efinancialnews.com">BNP Paribas digs deep at charity auction Template:Webarchive. Efinancialnews.com. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.</ref><ref name="euromoney.com">International banking, finance, capital markets news & analysis | Euromoney magazine Template:Webarchive. Euromoney.com. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.</ref> In September 2014, BNP completed the purchase of BGZ Bank for a final fee stated in the media to be $1.3 billion.<ref>BNP completes purchase of Bank BGZ from Rabobank Template:Webarchive. Reuters, 17 September 2014</ref><ref name="nytimes bnp admits guilt">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2021, BNP Paribas announced to exit US retail banking business by selling its Bank of the West to the Bank of Montreal for $16.3bn.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref>
In April 2024, BNP Paribas acquired Fosun International's entire 9% stake in Belgian insurance company Ageas for €730 million,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and BNP Paribas further increased its stake in Ageas up to 15,07% in February 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2024, BNP Paribas acquired HSBC private banking activities in Germany.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> BNP Paribas has around $80 billion under management in Asia by 2024. The bank has hired 20 private bankers, including Tiffeny Situ from Morgan Stanley, Wendy Chan from Citigroup and Martin Loh from Credit Suisse Group, as part of its expansion program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
BNP Paribas and BPCE have finalized an agreement of a joint venture to create Estreem, to become a top-three European payment processor in February 2025. The company is expected to handle 17 billion transactions annually, which will make it the leader with 30% volume of card payment in France.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2025, Karine Delvallee has been appointed as the new regional head for Southeast Asia by BNP Paribas and the CEO of its Singapore branch. Delvallee, who was formerly the CEO of BNP Paribas Australia and New Zealand, will now be overseeing operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a focus on growth strategy and strengthening client relationships. However, she will also continue to supervise service over Australia and New Zealand as well.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2025, Philippe Maillard was appointed as group COO by BNP Paribas. His tenure would be effective from 11 February, replacing Laurent David. As a company veteran since 1992, Maillard will oversee technology, IT, data, and operations. He will also be joining the bank’s executive committee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2025, Matthew Ponsonby, BNP Paribas' UK head of global banking, resigned from his position. The bank stated a successor will be announced soon. Ponsonby, who joined in 2017, expressed pride in the progress made during his tenure and mentioned moving to an undisclosed "compelling opportunity." Under his leadership, BNP Paribas expanded its investment banking activities in Europe, particularly in the UK, making notable progress in mergers and acquisitions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The first of July 2025,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BNP Paribas acquired Axa Investment Managers from Axa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 22 September 2025, the Financial Times reported that BNP Paribas had dropped its previous pledge not to finance companies involved in the production of so-called controversial weapons. The policy change aligns with a broader shift in European banks' approach to defense sector financing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Financial data
In 2022, total revenues of €50.4 billion represent an increase of 9% compared to 2021, BNP Paribas remains at the top of the French banks' ranking in terms of activity. During this year, BNP Paribas Group net income attributable to equity holders increased to 7.5% (to 10.2 billion euros). The geographic breakdown of Net Banking Income (NBI) at the end of 2020 is as follows: Europe (72.2%), North America (12.9%), Asia Pacific (8.6%) and others (6.3%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 38.822 | 39.168 | 42.938 | 43.411 | 43.161 | 42.516 | 44.597 | 44.275 | 46.235 | 50.419 |
| Net Income | 5.439 | 0.507 | 7.044 | 8.115 | 8.207 | 7.526 | 8.173 | 7.067 | 9.488 | 10.196 |
| Assets | 1,800.139 | 2,077.759 | 1,994.193 | 2,076.959 | 1,960.252 | 2,041 | 2,165 | 2,488 | 2,634 | 2,666 |
| Employees | 185,000 | 188,000 | 189,000 | 192,000 | 196,000 | 203,000 | 199,000 | 193,000 | 190,000 | 190,000 |
Corporate identity
The BNP Paribas logo since 2000 (designed by Laurent Vincent under the leadership of the Communications Director, Antoine Sire) is called the "courbe d'envol" (curve of taking flight). The stars allude to Europe and universality. The transformation of the stars into birds conveys openness, freedom, growth, and the ability to change and adapt. The shape and movement of the curve places the logo in the universe of life. The green square symbolises nature and optimism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Corporate structure
Executive Committee
The General Management and the executive committee<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are composed as follows:
- Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Director and Chief Executive Officer
- Yann Gérardin, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Chairman of Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB)
- Thierry Laborde, Chief Operating Officer, in charge of Commercial, Personal Banking & Services (CPBS)
- Renaud Dumora, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, in charge of Investment & Protection Services (IPS)
- Yannick Jung, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, in charge of the commercial and personal banking businesses in the Euro zone within CPBS
- Olivier Osty, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB)
- Michael Anseeuw, Director and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of BNP Paribas Fortis
- Marc Camus, Chief Information Officer
- Charlotte Dennery, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas Personal Finance
- Elena Goitini, Chief Executive Officer of BNL
- Elise Hermant, Head of Communications
- Stephanie Maarek, Chief Compliance Officer
- Pauline Leclerc-Glorieux, Director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas Cardif
- Isabelle Loc, Head of Commercial & Personal Banking in France
- Stéphanie Maarek, Chief Compliance Officer
- Lars Machenil, Chief Financial Officer
- Philippe Maillard, Group Chief Operating Officer
- Sofia Merlo, Head of Human Resources
- Anne Pointet, Head of Company Engagement
- Frank Roncey, Chief Risk Officer
Board of directors
As of 15 May 2025<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
.jpg){kind=link}
- Jean Lemierre (chairman), former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, director and CEO of BNP Paribas
- Jacques Aschenbroich, chairman of the board of directors of Orange Group
- Juliette Brisac, Head of Governance & Permanent Control of the BNP Paribas Group Company Engagement
- Valérie Chort, director of companies
- Monique Cohen, director of companies
- Hugues Epaillard, BNP Paribas Real Estate business manager
- Vanessa Lepoultier, Financial Advisor
- Lieve Logghe, Chief Financial Officer of Boortmalt International
- Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Geodis
- Bertrand de Mazières, director of companies
- Christian Noyer, director of companies
- Nicolas Peter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG
- Guillaume Poupard, Deputy Managing Director of Docaposte
- Daniela Schwarzer, member of the Executive Board of Bertelsmann Foundation
- Annemarie Straathof, director of companies
Major shareholders
As of 31 December 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- European institutional investors (37.3%)
- Non-European institutional investors (33.4%)
- BlackRock Inc. (6.0%)
- Belgian State (through SFPI) (5.6%)
- Amundi (5.0%)
Main subsidiaries
Retail banking
- BNP Paribas France (more than 2 200 branches)
- BNP Paribas Bulgaria
- BNP Paribas El Djazaïr (Algeria)
- BMCI (Morocco)
- Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) (Italy)
- Turk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB) (Turkey, Kosovo)
- BNP Paribas Fortis (Belgium, Germany, Poland, Turkey)
- BGL BNP Paribas (Luxembourg)
- Hello bank!
- Sahara Bank (Libya)
- Ukrsibbank (Ukraine)
- BCI Mer Rouge Djibouti
- Banque de Wallis et Futuna
- BNP Paribas Bank Polska (Poland)
Other subsidiaries
- Alfred Berg
- BNP Paribas Arbitrage
- BNP Paribas Assurances with Cardif, Pinnacle
- BNP Paribas Asset Management
- BNP Paribas Partners for Innovation
- BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK (Creation Financial Services Limited and Creation Consumer Finance Limited)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- BNP Paribas Primebrokerag
- BNP Paribas Real Estate (formerly Atisreal)
- BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with Arval,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Artegy
- BNP Paribas Securities Services (12,000 employees worldwide in 2019)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- BNP Paribas Wealth Management
- Cetelem
- Consors Finanz
- Cortal Consors
- FundQuest
- SBI Life Insurance Company Limited a joint venture insurance company with State Bank of India, India's largest financial service company
- Sharekhan, an Indian retail brokerage firm
- L'Atelier BNP Paribas
- BNP Paribas Personal Investors Luxembourg<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Protection 24<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- SAIB-BNP Paribas Asset Management<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Divisions
BNP Paribas CIB
BNP Paribas CIB (Corporate and Institutional Banking) is the global investment banking arm of BNP Paribas, the largest banking group in the world. In October 2010, BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over US$3.1 trillion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>The Global 2000. Forbes, 21 April 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.</ref>
BNP Paribas CIB's main centres are in Paris and London, with large scale operations in New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and smaller operations in almost every financial centre in the world. It employs 185,000 people across 56 countries and provides financing, advisory and capital markets services. BNP Paribas CIB is a globally recognised leader in two areas of expertise: trading derivatives on all asset classes, and structured financing.<ref name="Biz Journals">Biz Journals Template:Dead link</ref> BNP Paribas CIB also has a large corporate advisory network in Europe and Asia. BNP Paribas CIB has 13,000 clients, consisting of companies, financial institutions, governments, investment funds and hedge funds.
BNP Paribas CIB benefits from the Group's large asset base (over €2 trillion) and diverse business model, and was resilient through the 2008 financial crisis.<ref name="Biz Journals"/> Revenues from BNP Paribas CIB nearly doubled in the second quarter of 2009 as robust investor demand boosted revenues from the bank's fixed income trading business unit. CIB's revenues totaled €3.351 billion (US$4.82 billion) for the quarter, up 81 percent from the second quarter of 2008, and following record revenues of €3.696 billion in the first quarter of 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable current and former employees
Business
- Nassim Taleb – Practitioner of financial mathematics, author of The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness and Dynamic Hedging, and former BNP Paribas prop trader in New York City.
- Chris Innes, Head of Equities and Derivatives for Americas from 2010-2017<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Politics and public service
- Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou – considered by royalists as the head of the French Royal House
- Jacques de Larosière – managing director of the International Monetary Fund (1978–87); Governor of the Banque de France (1987–93)
- Lorenz of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria-Este
- François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France since 2015
Other
- David McWilliams - economist
Controversies
Antisemitic allegations
In 2016 BNP reached an undisclosed settlement<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with a Jewish employee, following a $40M lawsuit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The employee had been made to watch a training video in the form of a parody of the movie Downfall,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> portraying Adolf Hitler as the CEO of Deutsche Bank, one of BNP's competitors and the Nazi soldiers around him as Deutsche Bank executives. Also, his colleagues made a number of anti-semitic comments during his time at BNP Paribas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Business with sanctioned countries
On 30 May 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States Department of Justice was negotiating a possible guilty plea with BNP Paribas as well as the size of the resulting fine for violating U.S. regulations and evading US sanctions. The Justice Department sought a fine of more than US $10 billion, which was expected to be reduced to $8 or $9 billion in negotiations.<ref name="Wall Street Journal">Justice Dept. Seeks More Than $10 Billion Penalty From BNP Paribas Template:Webarchive, Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2014</ref> BNP Paribas was said to have laundered up to US$100 billion from the sanctioned countries of Sudan, Iran, and Cuba.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 1 July 2014, BNP Paribas pled guilty in a New York state court to falsifying business records as well as conspiracy in connection to those falsifications. It was also expected to plead guilty in federal court to violating laws against money-laundering.<ref name="cnn money">Template:Cite news</ref> It agreed to pay $8.9 billion, the largest fine ever for violating U.S. sanctions, and substantially more than the previous record of $1.9 billion.<ref name="nytimes bnp admits guilt" /><ref name="cnn money" /> BNP Paribas was also barred for one year under the plea agreement from certain US dollar-dominated transactions. The fine exceeded the bank's $6.4 billion 2013 annual income and the $1.1 billion it previously had allocated for the anticipated fine.<ref name="cnn money" /><ref name="forbes annual income">Template:Cite news</ref>
The bank's failure to cooperate with the multi-year investigation was given as a significant factor in the size of the fine. Additionally, BNP Paribas continued to process sanctioned transactions after the investigation began.<ref name="cnn money" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the fine was announced, BNP said it would be "just fine" and that it had "a comprehensive plan" to avoid similar violations in the future. The company's stock, which had fallen 12% since news of the investigation first leaked, rose 4% on the announcement.<ref name="cnn money" /><ref name="forbes annual income" /> To comply with the transaction ban, BNP Paribas will use a third party to clear its US transactions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 6 February 2024, the Federal Reserve announced that it had lifted a pair of 2014 enforcement actions it imposed on France's BNP Paribas, after the bank overhauled its compliance with U.S. sanctions laws.[1]
Check processing
In 2010 the French government's Autorité de la concurrence fined BNP and 10 other banks €384 million for colluding to charge unjustified fees on check processing, including extra fees during the transition from paper check transfer to "Exchanges Check-Image" electronic transfer.<ref>Collusion in the banking sector Template:Webarchive, Press Release of Autorité de la concurrence, République Française, 20 September 2010, retrv 2010 9 20</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
€152 million risk management affair
The German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> FOCUS,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bloomberg<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the French Les Échos<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> newspapers published an article regarding a €152 million mistrade (erroneous trade) in which BNP Paribas Arbitrage was allegedly involved.<ref name="Online">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bank has sold securities for €326,400 to the investor Armin S. but the value of the securities is €163 million according to the bank. According to the article, the error remained unnoticed for several days. BNP has even reconfirmed the original price.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Financial Times published an article in March 2018 about the case with the title "BNP Paribas failed to book trades in Germany for a week". It cites internal documents that show it did not book all trades that happened in structured products in Germany from 2 to 9 December 2015. The Financial Times estimates that 8,500 trades might have been affected. It also questions if the bank has hedged their positions if the trades have not been booked.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Sponsorship
BNP Paribas has been a major sponsor of tennis. In 1973 it became the major sponsor of the French Open, one of the four prestigious Grand Slam tournaments in the sport. In 2001 the bank began to sponsor the Davis Cup before becoming the title sponsor in 2002. In 2002 it became the sponsor of the Paris Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
In 2008 it became the sponsor of the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux, an ATP Challenger Tour tournament. The company's sponsorship expanded to the United States in 2009 when it became the title sponsor of the Indian Wells Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 two-week tournament in California. It also sponsored the BNP Paribas Showdown and BNP Paribas Tennis Classic exhibition tournaments held in New York City and London respectively. The Stanford Classic, since 1992, is instead directly sponsored by the Bank of the West subsidiary.
In 2018, BNP Paribas created the production company BNP Paribas Pictures, and supports young cinema talents through an investment fund dedicated to the financing and co-production of the first films of new talents in Cinema, the Fonds Nouveaux Talents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, the group supports the Femis Residence<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Mille visages,<ref>Template:Cite web.</ref> which aims to democratize the cinema environment and create bridges between the different professions in cinema.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The group also participates in the restoration of cinematographic works such as Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web.</ref>
Football
Between 1981 and early May 2020, BNP Paribas was a partner of the Belgian club RSC Anderlecht for 39 years through BNP Paribas Fortis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
Template:BNP Paribas Template:Navboxes Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- BNP Paribas
- Banks established in 2000
- Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank
- Companies listed on Euronext Paris
- CAC 40
- Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50
- French brands
- Investment banks
- Primary dealers
- Systemically important financial institutions
- Asset management companies