BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between

Banque Nationale de Paris BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

(BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and

Paribas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (“Bank of Paris and the Netherlands”), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas, was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. ...

, formerly known as the

Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (“Bank of Paris and the Netherlands”), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas, was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. ...

. The full name of the group's parent entity is BNP Paribas S.A. With 190,000 employees as of February 2021, the bank is organized into three major business areas: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services (CPBS), Investment & Protection Services (IPS) and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB). The group is listed on the first market of

Euronext Paris Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined marke ...

and a component of the Euro Stoxx 50

stock market index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance. Two of the ...

, while it also included in the French CAC 40 index. BNP Paribas is the largest banking group in Europe, after

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

, and ninth largest Banking group in the world, essentially a bulge bracket. It became one of the five largest banks in the world following the

2008 financial crisis 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

. Despite some legal difficulties in 2014, including being fined the largest ever sum as reparation for violating U.S. sanctions, it remains one of the ten largest banks worldwide. It is considered a

systemically important bank A systemically important financial institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis. They are colloquially referred to as "too big to fail". As the financial crisis o ...

by the

Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the G20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum ...

History

BNP Paribas results from a series of French and international mergers. Particularly notable were the merger of

Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris The Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP), from 1854 to 1889 Comptoir d'escompte de Paris (CEP), was a major French bank active from 1848 to 1966. The CEP was created by decree on 10 March 1848 by the French Provisional Government, in res ...

and

Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie The ''Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie'' (BNCI, "National Bank for Trade and Industry") was a major French bank, active from 1932 to 1966 when it merged with Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris to form Banque Nationale de Paris ...

that formed BNP in 1966, and the latter's merger with Paribas in 1999–2000. Other significant recent transactions involved the acquisitions by BNP Paribas in 2006 of

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Banca Nazionale del Lavoro S.p.A. (BNL) is an Italian bank headquartered in Rome. It is Italy's sixth largest bank and has been a subsidiary of BNP Paribas since 2006. History Founded in 1913 as Istituto Nazionale di Credito per la Cooperazione, ...

in Italy, and in 2008 of

Fortis Fortis may refer to: Business * Fortis AG, a Swiss watch company * Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock * Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in India * Fortis Inc ...

in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP)

On 7 March 1848, the French Provisional Government founded the

(CNEP) in response to the financial shock caused by the revolution of February 1848. The CNEP soon developed the largest international network of any French bank. BNCI resulted from the combination over time of a number of pre-existing banks: the Banque franco-égyptienne (est. 1870), which in 1889 became the Banque internationale de Paris; the Banque française d'Afrique du Sud (est. 1895); and the Banque Nationale de Crédit (est. 1912). After the end of the Second World War, the French state decided to "put banks and credit to work for national reconstruction".

René Pleven René Pleven (; 15 April 1901 – 13 January 1993) was a notable French politician of the Fourth Republic. A member of the Free French, he helped found the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR), a political party that was meant ...

, then

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, launched a massive reorganization of the banking industry. A law passed on 2 December 1945 and which went into effect on 1 January 1946

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

the four leading French retail banks: Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI), Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP),

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...

, and

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...

. In 1966, the French government decided to merge Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris with Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie to create one new bank called Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP). The bank was re-privatised in 1993 under the leadership of Michel Pébereau as part of a second Chirac government's

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

policy.

Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (known from 1982 as Paribas)

(

) was established on 27 January 1872, through the merger of ''Banque de Crédit et de Dépôt des Pays-Bas'', whose origins go back to the bank established in 1820 by

Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim (; 22 June 1800 – 14 November 1873) was a German-born international banker and a member of the prominent Bischoffsheim family. Early life Louis-Raphaël was born on 22 June 1800 and was the eldest son of Nathan-Ra ...

in Amsterdam, and ''Banque de Paris'', which had been founded in 1869 by a group of Parisian bankers. It went on to develop a strong investment banking business both domestically in France and overseas. During the period 1872 to 1913, it was involved in raising funds for the French and other governments as well as big businesses through a number of bond issues. It helped the French government raise funds during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and raised further capital and expanded into investments into industrial companies during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. It stagnated and lost assets during the Second World War. After World War II, it escaped the nationalisation of other French banks due to its status as an

investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

and managed to take advantage of that by expanding its operations overseas. It also directs its activity towards businesses and participates in the development and restructuring of French industry, including names such as

Groupe Bull Bull SAS (also known as Groupe Bull, Bull Information Systems, or simply Bull) is a French computer company headquartered in Les Clayes-sous-Bois, in the western suburbs of Paris. The company has also been known at various times as Bull General El ...

and

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Houst ...

. The bank was nationalized in 1982 by the government of

Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...

under

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

as part of a law that nationalized five major industrial companies, thirty-nine registered banks, and two financial companies, Suez and Paribas. It was re-privatized in January 1987 by the Chirac government. In the 1990s, Paribas had an active policy of acquisitions and divestiture. This included selling the

Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...

Doğuş Holding Doğuş () is a Turkish name and may refer to: * Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player * Doğuş Holding, one of the top three largest private-sector conglomerates in Turkey * Doğuş University, private university in İstanbul See also * ...

, and setting up the joint venture lending company

Cetelem Cetelem or BNP Personal Finance is a French company specializing in consumer credit, online credit and credit cards. Cetelem is the commercial brand of financing of BNP Paribas, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, and specializes i ...

in Germany. It sold

Crédit du Nord is a French retail banking network. It consists of the following banks: * , Toulouse, Aquitaine (oldest existing bank in France, founded in 1760) * , Alsace, Lorraine * , Savoy * , Massif Central * , Lyon * , Limoges * , Marseille * itself in t ...

and in 1998 it merged with ''Compagnie Bancaire'', renaming the bank with the official name ''Compagnie Financière de Paribas''.

Founding of BNP Paribas

In 1999, BNP and

fought a complex battle on the stock market, 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 leading 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

credit crisis A credit crunch (also known as a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit cr ...

and the bank's quick reaction saved it from the fate of other large European banks such as

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

. On 6 October 2008, BNP took over 75% of troubled bank

' activities in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and 66% in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, 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 A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

on Friday 12 December On 14 December 2008, BNP announced it could lose €350 million as a victim of the

Madoff fraud The Madoff investment scandal was a major case of stock and securities fraud discovered in late 2008. In December of that year, Bernie Madoff, the former NASDAQ chairman and founder of the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities ...

. 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. On 11 February, Fortis' shareholders decided that Fortis Bank Belgium and Fortis Insurance Belgium should not become property of BNP Paribas. However the acquisition was completed and BNP Paribas took 75% share holding and renamed the new subsidiary

BNP Paribas Fortis BNP Paribas Fortis is an international bank based in Belgium and is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. It was formerly, together with Fortis Bank Nederland, the banking arm of the financial institution Fortis. After the ultimately unsuccessful ABN-AMR ...

. After this only Fortis Insurance International was left in Fortis Holding and this was renamed as

Ageas Ageas is a Belgian multinational insurance company co-headquartered in Brussels. Ageas is Belgium's largest insurer and operates in 14 countries worldwide. The company was renamed from Fortis Holding in April 2010 and consists of those insurance ...

, a business that had Insurance all over Europe and Asia. The remaining Fortis Bank Netherlands was in the hands of the

Dutch Government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, ...

which merged it with other ABN AMRO holdings it already owned under the name

ABN AMRO ABN or abn may refer to: Companies * ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group * ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank * Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank Radio, news and television organizat ...

. 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 The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...

's largest bank by deposits held. On 21 September, the bank's registered name was changed to

BGL BNP Paribas BGL BNP Paribas (formerly Banque Générale du Luxembourg or BGL) is a Luxembourgish bank founded on 29 September 1919. Since May 2009, the bank has been a member of the BNP Paribas group. It is the fifth-largest bank in the Grand Duchy of Luxembour ...

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."The history of Fortis BGL BNP Paribas"
, ''BGL BNP Paribas''. Retrieved 9 September 2011 In 2013 BNP Paribas was awarded the Bank of the Year award by The International Financing Review ("IFR"),

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...

' leading financial industry publication. The IFR awards are a key industry benchmark and Bank of the Year is the top honour awarded.Mullin, Keith. (15 February 2012
Bank of the Year: BNP Paribas , All Special Reports
. IFRe. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.BNP Paribas digs deep at charity auction
. Efinancialnews.com. Retrieved on 6 December 2013.
. Euromoney.com. Retrieved on 6 December 2013. BNP Paribas reached an agreement in December 2013 to acquire

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

's Polish unit BGZ Bank for around $1.4 billion. In September 2014, BNP completed the purchase of BGZ Bank for a final fee stated in the media to be $1.3 billion. In June 2014, BNP Paribas pleaded guilty to falsifying

business records A business record is a document (hard copy or digital) that records an "act, condition, or event" related to business. Business records include meeting minutes, memoranda, employment contracts, and accounting source documents. It must be retriev ...

and

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

, having violated

U.S. sanctions After the failure of the Embargo Act of 1807, the federal government of the United States took little interest in imposing embargoes and economic sanctions against foreign countries until the 20th century. United States trade policy was entirely a ...

against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. It agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, the largest ever for violating U.S. sanctions at that time. 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.

Financial data

In 2021, total revenues of €46.2 billion represent an increase of 4.4% compared to 2020, 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 34.3% (to 9.5 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%).

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.

Corporate structure

Executive Committee

The General Management and the executive committee are composed as follows: *

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé Jean-Laurent Bonnafé (born 14 July 1961) has been serving as chief executive officer of BNP Paribas since 2011. Early life and education The son of an Électricité de France (EDF) electrical engineer and a lawyer in Albi, Bonnafé attended the L ...

, Director and chief executive officer of BNP Paribas * Yann Gérardin, directeur général délégué, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate & Institutional Banking * Thierry Laborde, directeur général Délégué, Chief Operating Officer, Retail Banking * Laurent David, Deputy Chief Operating Officer * Renaud Dumora, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Investment & Protection Services * Marguerite Bérard, Head of French Retail Banking * Stefaan Decraene, Head of International Retail Banking * Charlotte Dennery, Director and chief executive officer of

BNP Paribas Personal Finance BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

* Bernard Gavgani, Chief Information Officer * Elena Goitini, chief executive officer of BNL * Nathalie Hartmann, Head of Compliance * Max Jadot, CEO and chairman of the executive board of BNP Paribas Fortis. * Yannick Jung, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking Global Banking EMEA * Pauline Leclerc-Glorieux, Director and chief executive officer of BNP Paribas Cardif * Lars Machenil, Chief Financial Officer * Sofia Merlo, Head of Human Resources * Olivier Osty, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking Global Markets * Franck Roncey, Chief Risk Officer * Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement

Board of directors

As of 17 May 2021: *

Jean Lemierre Jean Lemierre (born 6 June 1950) is a French former public servant who was the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2000 to 2008. He is now chairman of BNP Paribas. Career Public sector In 2000, Lemierre was ...

(chairman), former president of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

, CEO of BNP Paribas * Jacques Aschenbroich, chairman and CEO of

Valeo Valeo is a French global automotive supplier headquartered in France, listed on the Paris Stock Exchange ( CAC-40 Index). It supplies a wide range of products to automakers and the aftermarket. The Group employs 113,600 people in 33 countries wo ...

* Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and CEO of

Saint-Gobain Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of ...

* Monique Cohen, partner at

Apax Partners Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2017, the firm, including its ...

* Wouter De Ploey, CEO of ZNA * Hugues Epaillard, BNP Paribas Real Estate executive * Rajna Gibson Brandon, professor at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

Marion Guillou Marion Guillou (born 17 September 1954 in Marseille, France) is a French scientist specialized in global food security. Guillou wrote proposals for the French government on the agro-ecological transition (June 2013) and on the organization of th ...

, global food security academic *

Denis Kessler Denis Kessler (born 25 March 1952) is a French businessman. He has served as the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of SCOR SE since 2002. Prior to this, he served as Vice-Chairman of MEDEF and CEO of AXA. Biograph ...

, chairman and CEO of

SCOR SE SCOR SE is a France, French tier 1 reinsurance company providing Property and Casualty (P&C) and Life reinsurance solutions to its clients. It is one of the leading reinsurers in the world. Created in 1970 with the backing of the French governmen ...

* Daniela Schwarzer, director at the

German Council on Foreign Relations The German Council on Foreign Relations (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e. V. (DGAP)) is Germany's national foreign policy network and policy research institute. As an independent, private, non-partisan and non-profit org ...

Michel Tilmant Michel Tilmant (born 21 July 1952) is a banker and the former CEO of ING Group, a globally operating banking and insurance business based in the Netherlands. Biography Tilmant, a French language, French speaking Belgium, Belgian, graduated from ...

, former CEO of

ING Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

* Sandrine Verrier, economic advisor * Jane Fields Wicker-Miurin, former

Prudential plc Prudential plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary list ...

executive Other Corporate Officers * Yann Gérardin, Chief Operating Officer of BNP Paribas in charge of CIB * Thierry Laborde, Chief Operating Officer of BNP Paribas in charge of Commercial, Personal Banking & Services

Major shareholders June 2021

* Belgian State (through SFPI) (7.7%) * Blackrock Inc. (6.0%) * Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (1.0%) * Employees (4.3%) * Retail shareholders (4.2%) * European institutional investors (43.4%) * Non-European institutional investors (31.4%) * Other and unidentified (2.0%)

Main subsidiaries

Retail banking

* BNP Paribas France (more than 2 200 branches) * BNP Paribas

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

BancWest Bank of the West is an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It is a subsidiary of the French international banking group BNP Paribas and has more than 600 branches and offices in the Mid ...

(

Bank of the West Bank of the West is an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It is a subsidiary of the French international banking group BNP Paribas and has more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwes ...

in the USA) * BNP Paribas El Djazaïr (

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BMCI BMCI (french: link=no, Banque marocaine pour le commerce et l'industrie, "Morocco Bank of Commerce and Industry") is a bank based in Morocco. It is a majority-owned subsidiary of the French financial group BNP Paribas. History At the end of t ...

(

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

) *

(BNL) (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) * Turk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB) (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) *

(

, Germany,

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, Turkey) *

(

) *

Hello bank! Hello bank! is a digital direct bank owned by BNP Paribas that started operations in 2013. The bank operates in France, Belgium, Germany (using the name Consorsbank), Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria. BNP Paribas has claimed that it is "th ...

Sahara Bank The Sahara Bank ( ar, مصرف الصحارى) is a Libyan commercial bank, established in 1964. The bank performs retail and corporate banking operations and its head office is located in Tripoli. Overview The Sahara Bank was established in 19 ...

(

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

) *

Ukrsibbank UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group is a commercial bank based in Ukraine. UKRSIBBANK has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1990. It operates network of 260 branches and 1000 ATMs throughout Ukraine, for 2 million customers all around Ukraine ...

(

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) *

BCI Mer Rouge BCI may refer to: Organizations * Bar Council of India * Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK * Bat Conservation International * Battery Council International, American trade association * BCI, an investigative law enforcement agency for the U.S. ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

* Banque de

Wallis et Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

* Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie du Sénégal (

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

) *

Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

(

) * Findomestic (

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

) * BNP PARIBAS Jordan (

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

)

Other subsidiaries

Alfred Berg Alfred Berg is a Nordic asset manager with offices in Oslo and Stockholm with expertise in portfolio management and financial analysis. Alfred Berg is an independent part of BNP Paribas Asset Management. Alfred Berg was founded in Sweden in 1863, t ...

BNP Paribas Arbitrage BNP may refer to: Politics *Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party * Balochistan National Party (Awami), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan * Balochistan National Party (Mengal), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan ...

BNP Paribas Assurances BNP may refer to: Politics *Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party * Balochistan National Party (Awami), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan * Balochistan National Party (Mengal), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan ...

with

Cardif Cardif is an international insurance company based in France with a presence worldwide. The company is part of the BNP Paribas Group. History In 1973 the French bank ''Compagnie bancaire'' founded a life insurance company ''Compagnie d'Assura ...

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

BNP Paribas Investment Partners BNP Paribas Asset Management is the dedicated, autonomous asset management business of BNP Paribas Group. History In 2007, BNP Paribas regrouped its function in asset management under the brand name BNP Paribas Investment Partners. In 2010, t ...

BNP Paribas Partners for Innovation BNP may refer to: Politics *Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party * Balochistan National Party (Awami), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan * Balochistan National Party (Mengal), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan ...

BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, formerly known as LaSer UK, is a provider of consumer finance. It operates in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. The company administers credit and loyalty programmes for businesses across multiple sectors, ...

(Creation Financial Services Limited and Creation Consumer Finance Limited) *

BNP Paribas Primebrokerag BNP may refer to: Politics *Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party * Balochistan National Party (Awami), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan * Balochistan National Party (Mengal), a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan ...

BNP Paribas Real Estate BNP Paribas Real Estate, formerly Atisreal, is a European commercial property consultancy company and subsidiary of BNP Paribas with around 2,600 employees in 51 cities. Its headquarters were in Levallois-Perret, France. In June 2009 the Atisreal ...

(formerly

Atisreal BNP Paribas Real Estate, formerly Atisreal, is a European commercial property consultancy company and subsidiary of BNP Paribas with around 2,600 employees in 51 cities. Its headquarters were in Levallois-Perret, France. In June 2009 the Atisreal ...

) * BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions with Arval,

car leasing A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

and Artegy *

BNP Paribas Securities Services BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the group ...

* BNP Paribas Wealth Management *

Consors Finanz Consors Finanz is a German brand of the worldwide active major bank BNP Paribas. The focus of the business is the allocation of consumer loans, especially sales financing for retail and online trade as well as for car, caravan and motorbike deal ...

* CortalConsors * FundQuest *

SBI Life Insurance Company Limited SBI Life is an Indian life insurance company which was started as a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) and French financial institution BNP Paribas Cardif. SBI has a 55.50% stake in the company and BNP Paribas Cardif owns a 0.22% s ...

a joint venture insurance company with

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...

, India's largest financial service company, owned by the Government of India *

Sharekhan Sharekhan is an Indian retail brokerage full-service brokerage firm, that , was the fifth largest full-service firm and the 8th largest stock broker in India with 16 lakh customers. Sharekhan was one of the pioneers of online trading in Ind ...

, an Indian

retail brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

firm * * BNP Paribas Personal Investors Luxembourg * Protection 24 * SAIB-BNP Paribas Asset Management

Controversies

Antisemitic allegations

In 2016 BNP reached a $40m

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

with a Jewish employee. The employee had been made to watch a training video. The film portrayed

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

as the CEO of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, one of BNP's competitors and the Nazi soldiers around him as Deutsche Bank executives. The video showed Hitler screaming at the soldiers. Also, his colleagues made a number of anti-semitic comments during his time at BNP Paribas.

Business with sanctioned countries: $8.9 billion fine

On 30 May 2014, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' reported that the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

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 $ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

10 billion, which was expected to be reduced to $8 or $9 billion in negotiations.Justice Dept. Seeks More Than $10 Billion Penalty From BNP Paribas
, Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2014 BNP Paribas was said to have laundered up to US$100 billion from the sanctioned countries of Sudan, Iran, and Cuba. On 1 July 2014, BNP Paribas pled guilty in a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state court to falsifying

as well as

in connection to those falsifications. It was also expected to plead guilty in federal court to violating laws against money-laundering. 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. 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. 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. About 30 employees left the bank as a result of the investigation. According to the FBI's New York Field Office and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) "BNPP deliberately disregarded the law and provided rogue nations, and Sudan in particular, with vital access to the global financial system, helping that country's lawless government to harbor and support terrorists and to persecute its own people. Today's sentence demonstrates that financial institutions will be punished severely but appropriately for violating sanctions laws and risking our national security interests." 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. To comply with the transaction ban, BNP Paribas will use a third party to clear its US transactions.

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...

said it was reviewing the bank's financial standing in light of the fine and penalties for a possible downgrade.

Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

alleged that the

US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

was using the case to punish France for selling

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

amphibious assault ships to Russia. He said the large fine and the imposition of sanctions on the French bank were the result of US displeasure with France's decision not to stop the sale. Former

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...

president

Jean-Claude Trichet Jean-Claude Trichet (; born 20 December 1942) is a French economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011. Previous to his assumption of the presidency he served as Governor of the Bank of France from 1993 to 2003 ...

had previously said that a large fine was neither fair nor proportionate to the violations and could disrupt the global banking system.

Check processing

In 2010 the French government's

Autorité de la concurrence The (; ) is France's national competition regulator. Its predecessor, the Competition Council, was established in the 1950s. The Competition Authority is an , responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and monitoring the functionin ...

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. On 19 January 2011 BNP sued Russian grain trader, OOO Rosinteragroservis, and its subsidiary OAO Kubankhlebprodukt, claiming US$20 million in debts and penalties.

Discrimination

In January 2022, a female banker was awarded £2M after the UK employment tribunal concluded that she had endured years of direct sex discrimination and victimisation. Her complaints include harassment and being paid thousands of pounds less than male colleagues in the same role.

Financing private prisons

In 2017, ICCR and the Families Belong Together Coalition began confronting banks about the human rights risks which accompany sponsoring the private prison industry. In 2019, BNP Paribas and other banks disengaged from the private prison industry.

€152 million risk management affair

The German ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

FOCUS Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

and the French '' Les Échos'' newspapers published an article regarding a €152 million mistrade (

erroneous trade A fat-finger error is a keyboard input error or mouse misclick in the financial markets such as the stock market or foreign exchange market whereby an order to buy or sell is placed of far greater size than intended, for the wrong stock or contra ...

) in which BNP Paribas Arbitrage was allegedly involved. The bank has sold securities for €326,400 to the investor

Armin S. Armin S. (complete name unknown, born ) is a German independent Security (finance), securities trader. He achieved international recognition in 2017 when he filed a lawsuit against BNP Paribas for its continued refusal to deliver Euro, €163 mil ...

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. However, a trade-cancellation was only possible until the next day according to prevailing

rules. Michael Lusk published an article regarding this case with the title "Do banks' internal control system work?" A solicitor for

, Mario Bögelein, stated in the article that a bank not recognizing an error of this magnitude should not be protected by law. The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' 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 product A structured product, also known as a market-linked investment, is a pre-packaged structured finance investment strategy based on a single Security (finance), security, a basket of securities, Option (finance), options, Index (economics), indices, ...

s 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. Armin S. is cited with the words "I don't think it's fair if on the one hand, BNP wants to rely on statutory safeguard clauses but on the other hand they ignored all control-tasks imposed by the regulators – ECB, BaFin and AMF – for a whole week"
ArminS vs BNP Paribas - 152m EUR risk management affair
Armin S also filed a claim for €152 million in Paris because the relevant jurisdiction is still unknown.

Sponsorship

BNP Paribas has been a major sponsor of tennis. In 1973 it became the major sponsor of the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, one of the four prestigious Grand Slam tournaments in the sport. In 2001 the bank began to sponsor the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

before becoming the title sponsor in 2002. In 2002 it became the sponsor of the

Paris Masters The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the AccorHotels Arena, in the neighborhood of Bercy. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association o ...

, an

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...

tournament. In 2008 it became the sponsor of the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux, an

ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...

tournament. The company's sponsorship expanded to the United States in 2009 when it became the title sponsor of the

Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...

, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 two-week tournament in California. It also sponsored the BNP Paribas Showdown and

BNP Paribas Tennis Classic The Aspall Tennis Classic at Hurlingham is an exhibition tennis tournament held each year since 1994 on the grass courts at the Hurlingham Club in London, in the week before the Wimbledon Championships. It is managed by IMG. Previously Novak Dj ...

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.

References

External links

*
List of branches and ATMs of BNP Paribas in France (with addresses, contacts and agencies opening hours)

Source d'Histoire, the website of the Archives and History department in BNP Paribas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bnp Paribas Financial services companies established in 2000 Banks established in 2000 Banks based in Paris Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank Companies listed on Euronext Paris CAC 40 Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 French brands French companies established in 2000 Investment banks Investment management companies of France Multinational companies headquartered in France Primary dealers Systemically important financial institutions