BNP Paribas

Name in brief

The Banque Nationale de Paris S.A. (BNP) resulted from a merger of two French banks – Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI) and Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP) – in 1966.

The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas S.A. (Bank of Paris and the Netherlands), or Paribas, was formed from two investment banks based respectively in Paris and Amsterdam, in 1872. Les Pays-Bas ("The Low Country") is French for the Netherlands.

In May 2000, BNP and Paribas merged to form BNP Paribas, which is thus descended from four founding banking institutions.

BNP (Banque Nationale de Paris)

On 7 March 1848, the French Provisional Government founded the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP) in response to the financial shock caused by the revolution of February 1848. The upheaval destroyed the old credit system, which was already struggling to provide sufficient capital to meet the demands of the railway boom and the resulting growth of industry. The CEP grew steadily in France and overseas, although in 1889 there was a crisis in which it was temporarily placed in receivership.

Separately, on 18 April 1932, the French government replaced Banque nationale de crédit (BNC), which failed as a result of the 1930s recession, with the new bank Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI). The former banks headquarter and staff were used to create BNCI with fresh capital of 100 million francs. The bank initially grew rapidly through absorbing a number of regional banks that got into financial trouble. After the Second World War, it continued to grow steadily. It grew its retail business in France and its commercial business overseas in the French colonial empire.

After the end of the Second World War, the French state decided to "put banks and credit to work for national reconstruction". René Pleven, then Minister of Finance, 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 the four leading French retail banks: Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI), Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP), Crédit Lyonnais, and 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 policy.

Paribas (Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas)

Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (Paribas) was established on 27 January 1872, through the merger of Banque de Crédit et de Dépôt des Pays-Bas, which had been established in 1820 by Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim 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 and raised further capital and expanded into investments into industrial companies during the Great Depression. It stagnated and lost assets during the Second World War.

After World War II, it missed the nationalisation of the other French banks due to its status as an investment bank 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 and Thomson-CSF.

The bank was nationalized in 1982 by the government of Pierre Mauroy under François Mitterrand 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 to Doğuş Holding, and setting up the joint venture lending company Cetelem in Germany. It sold Crédit du Nord to Société Générale and in 1998 it merged with Compagnie Bancaire, renaming the bank with the official name Compagnie Financière de Paribas.

Founding of BNP Paribas till date: 2000–present

In 1999, BNP and Société Générale 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 22 May 2000.

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

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

On 14 December 2008, BNP announced it could lose €350 million as a victim of the Madoff fraud.

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. 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. 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.

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. In 2013 BNP Paribas was awarded the Bank of the Year award by The International Financing Review ("IFR"), Thomson Reuters' leading financial industry publication. The IFR awards are a key industry benchmark and Bank of the Year is the top honour awarded.

BNP Paribas reached an agreement in December 2013 to acquire Rabobank'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 and conspiracy, having violated U.S. sanctions against Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. It agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, the largest ever for violating U.S. sanctions at that time.

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" (star 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 "stars taking flight" curve places the logo in the universe of life. The green square symbolises nature and optimism.

Business units

In 2015, the BNP Paribas Group was organized around two business areas:

Retail Banking & Services, a global network of nearly 7,000 branches, comprising Domestic Markets and International Financial Services, and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB).

At the end of 2015, outstanding deposits stood at EUR700.3 billion and outstanding loans at EUR682.5 billion. The geographic breakdown of revenues was as follows: Europe (73.3%), Americas (11.8%), Asia Pacific (7.5%) and others (7.4%).

Retail banking

Retail banking is BNP Paribas' largest business unit representing 72% of its 2015 revenues. Its operations are concentrated in Europe, especially in the group's three domestic markets of France, Italy (where it operates as Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL)), and Belgium (as BNP Paribas Fortis). The group also owns an American subsidiary BancWest which operates as Bank of the West in the western United States and First Hawaiian Bank in Hawaii. BNP Paribas's Europe Mediterranean group also runs large retail banks in Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, and northern Africa.

BNP Paribas is the largest bank in the Eurozone by total assets and second largest by market capitalization according to The Banker magazine, just behind Banco Santander. It employs over 189,000 people, according to the bank as of 31 December 2015, of which 147,000 work in Europe, and maintains a presence in 75 countries.

Domestic markets

United States

In the United States, BNP Paribas owns BancWest, which in turn operates retail banking subsidiaries Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank. Bank of the West operates in 19 Western US states (where it ranks as the 7th largest bank by assets), while First Hawaiian is Hawaii's leading bank with a 40% market share in deposits. Together the two banks operate 710 branches, and service 5 million clients.

The two banks were merged into BancWest 1998, and BNP Paribas took full control of the combined entity in 2001.

The group has a strong presence on niche markets such as lending for marine and recreational vehicles, church lending, and agribusiness. In 2009 BancWest had €2.1 billion in revenues (5.2% of the total group's), and 11,200 employees (5.5% of the total group's headcount). BancWest lost €223 million in 2009 largely due to its exposure in the subprime mortgage crisis in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Emerging markets

In 2009, BNP Paribas reorganized its retail banking divisions renaming its "Emerging Markets" group the "Europe Mediterranean" group. This change was made because after the integration of Fortis Bank's Polish and Turkish subsidiaries, BNP Paribas's emerging market activities are now heavily concentrated in Eastern Europe and the southern half of the Mediterranean basin.

BNP Paribas is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM card or check card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no ATM surcharges when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Barclays (United Kingdom), Bank of America (United States), China Construction Bank (China), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Santander Serfin (Mexico), UkrSibbank (Ukraine), Scotiabank (Canada) and Westpac (Australia and New Zealand).

Corporate and Institutional Banking

In addition to its retail activities, BNP Paribas is also a leading global investment bank through its Corporate & Investment Banking unit. Although present in all investment banking markets, it is recognized as a global leader in derivatives trading, structured finance, and project finance.

The firm is divided into 6 key business areas:

In 2009, BNP CIB earned €12.2 billion in revenue (30% of total group's), €4.4 billion in pre-tax income (48.9% of total group's), and 18,000 employees (9.0% of total group's headcount.)

Investment solutions

BNP Paribas's "Investment Solutions" unit includes its asset management, custodial banking, real estate, insurance, online brokerage, "Personal Investors" and wealth management activities.

On 11 June 2008, BNP Paribas formally signed an agreement to purchase the Prime Brokerage Services division of Bank of America Securities. The sale was expected to be completed by the end of the 2008 third quarter.

Events in 2005

On 23 September 2005, BNP Paribas was set to take a 20 percent stake in China's Nanjing City Commercial Bank, a Chinese official and state press reports said. "BNP is going to sign a deal with us to buy a stake next month," an official from Nanjing City Commercial told AFP. The Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post said BNP would pay up to US$100 million, although the bank official said the figure was incorrect. He declined to give further details. The French newspaper La Tribune reported in August 2005 that BNP Paribas had talked to four Chinese commercial banks—Ningbo, Wuxi, Nanjing and Suzhou—and was prepared to invest US$50–100 million. "We've talked to different financial institutions, but only BNP showed its good faith. It was not easy for us to reach an agreement," the Nanjing City Commercial Bank official said. BNP Paribas refused to comment. The International Financial Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, already owns 15 percent of Nanjing City Commercial Bank, which has regulatory approval to list on the country's domestic stock markets.

Major shareholders

Retail banking

Other subsidiaries

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

Nuclear investments

BNP Paribas is the biggest investor in the nuclear sector as a bank, according to Profundo, with more than €13.5 billion in nuclear investments. On 23 October 2011 Greenpeace organised a protest against BNP Paribas in 24 French cities.

Sanctions violations

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. 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 state court to falsifying business records as well as conspiracy in connection to those falsifications. It is 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 said it was reviewing the bank's financial standing in light of the fine and penalties for a possible downgrade.

Russian president Vladimir Putin alleged without providing any supporting evidence that the US government was using the case to punish France for selling Mistral 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 president Jean-Claude Trichet had previously said that a large fine was neither fair nor proportionate to the violations and could disrupt the global banking system.

163 Million Erroneous Trade case

The German FOCUS magazine published an article regarding a 163 Million EUR mistrade (erroneous trade) in which BNP Paribas Arbitrage is allegedly involved in. The bank has sold securities for 326,400 EUR to an investor but the value of the securities is 163 Million EUR 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 mistrade rules.

A German lawyer stated in the article that a bank not recognizing an error of this magnitude should not be protected by law.

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. Also in 2002 it became the sponsor of the Paris Masters, one of the nine high-profile tournaments of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series. It also expanded to the United States in 2009 when it became the title sponsor of the Indian Wells Masters, a two-week tournament in California which is also one of the nine Masters 1000 series. The Stanford Classic, since 1992, is instead directly sponsored by the Bank of the West subsidiary.

Corporate philanthropy

Under the aegis of the Fondation de France, the BNP Paribas Foundation has been playing a key role in corporate philanthropy for more than 30 years. It is also encouraging to developing the BNP Paribas international philanthropic policy where the Group does business.

The BNP Paribas Foundation aims at developing its activities through a corporate philanthropic approach, dedicated to three fields of action:

The BNP Paribas Foundation supports since 1984, more than 300 cultural projects, 40 programmes on research, and a thousand of social & educational initiatives in France and worldwide. Its major programmes are:

In 2015, BNP Paribas Corporate Philanthropy in the world represented a commitment of almost 40 million euros.

In 2015, Standard Ethics Aei has given a Sustainability Rating to BNP Paribas (EE+) in order to include it in its Standard Ethics French Index.

Notable current and former employees