BNP Paribas (sometimes referred to as BNPP, Paribas or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris.[5][6][7][8] It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial institutions, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas.[9] 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).[10]
BNP Paribas is listed on Euronext Paris and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[11] It is the second largest bank in Europe and eighth largest bank in the world by total assets.[12] It became one of the five largest banks in the world following the 2008 financial crisis.[13] It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board.[14] In the Forbes Global 2000, BNP Paribas was ranked as the 33rd largest public company in the world.[15] 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.[16]
Although a French banking group, the Belgian government has been a significant shareholder since 2009 (with 5.3% equity ownership as of mid-2023)[18] as a result of the group's acquisition of Fortis Bank Belgium, heir to the Société Générale de Belgique established in 1822.[19]
History
Creation of BNP Paribas Group
In 1999, BNP and Société Générale fought a complex battle on the stock market,[20] 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.[21][22]
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%).[54]
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.[56]
Corporate structure
Executive Committee
The General Management and the executive committee[57] 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
Divisions
BNP Paribas CIB
BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) is the global investment banking arm of BNP Paribas, a French multinational bank. 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.[69][70]
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.[71]
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[81]
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)
Controversies
Antisemitic allegations
In 2016 BNP reached an undisclosed settlement[82] with a Jewish employee, following a $40M lawsuit.[83] The employee had been made to watch a training video in the form of a parody of the movie Downfall,[84] 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.[85]
Business with sanctioned countries
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.[106] In 2019, the group supports the Femis Residence[107] and Mille visages,
See also
- BNL BNP Paribas headquarters
- List of banks in France
- List of banks in the euro area
External links
References
- Universal registration document & annual financial report 2025 BNP Paribas, 19 March 2026^
- The Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris (1848-1966) BNP Paribas, 26 May 2023^
- The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (Paribas) – 1872-2000