BNP Paribas is a French international banking group born in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas, formerly Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the Group`s parent company is BNP Paribas S.A. On 11 February, Fortis shareholders decided that Fortis Bank Belgium and Fortis Insurance Belgium would not become the property of BNP Paribas. However, the acquisition was finalized and BNP Paribas acquired 75% of the shares and renamed the new subsidiary BNP Paribas Fortis. After that, only Fortis Insurance International remained in Fortis Holding and was renamed Ageas, a company that had insurance throughout Europe and Asia. The rest of Fortis Bank Netherlands was in the hands of the Dutch government, which merged it with other ABN AMRO holdings, which it already held under the name ABN AMRO. In the 1990s, Paribas pursued an active policy of acquisitions and disposals. These include the sale of the Ottoman Bank to Doğuş Holding and the establishment of the joint venture credit company Cetelem in Germany. It sold Crédit du Nord to Société Générale and merged with Compagnie Bancaire in 1998 and renamed it Compagnie Financière de Paribas. On 21 September, the bank`s registered name was changed to BGL BNP Paribas and in February 2010, BGL BNP Paribas became 100% owner of BNP Paribas Luxembourg. The transfer was finalised on 1 October 2010 with the integration of BNP Paribas Luxembourg`s business into BGL BNP Paribas` operational platforms. [16] In 2013, BNP Paribas was awarded the “Bank of the Year” award by The International Financing Review (“IFR”), Thomson Reuters` leading publication in the financial sector. The IFR Awards are an important industry benchmark and the Bank of the Year is the highest honour awarded.
[17] [18] [19] BNP Paribas was an important sponsor of tennis. In 1973, he became the main sponsor of the French Open, one of the four prestigious Grand Slam tournaments of the sport. In 2001, the bank began sponsoring the Davis Cup before becoming title sponsor in 2002. In 2002, she sponsored the Paris Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. In 2008, she became a 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, a two-week ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in California. She also sponsored the BNP Paribas Showdown and BNP Paribas Tennis Classic exhibition tournaments held in New York and London respectively. Stanford Classic has been sponsored directly by its subsidiary Bank of the West since 1992. BNP Paribas is the second largest banking group in Europe after HSBC and the ninth largest banking group in the world. After the 2008 financial crisis, it became one of the five largest banks in the world.
[4] Despite some legal difficulties in 2014, including the highest fine ever imposed to compensate for violations of US sanctions[5], it remains one of the top ten banks in the world. [6] It is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. After World War II, due to its status as an investment bank, it escaped the nationalization of other French banks and managed to take advantage of them by expanding its activities abroad. It also focuses its activities on companies and participates in the development and restructuring of Français`industrie, including names such as Groupe Bull and Thomson-CSF. With 190,000 employees (as of February 2021), the Bank is divided into three main business units: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services (CPBS), Investment & Protection Services (IPS) and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB). In June 2014, BNP Paribas pleaded guilty to falsifying business documents and conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Sudan. He agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, the highest ever imposed for violating U.S. sanctions at the time. [22] [5] After the end of the Second World War, the French state decided “to use banks and loans for national reconstruction.” René Pleven, then Minister of Finance, initiated a massive reorganization of the banking sector.
A law adopted on 2 December 1945, which entered into force on 1 January 1946, nationalised the four main French retail banks: Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l`Industrie (BNCI), Comptoir National d`Escompte de Paris (CNEP), Crédit Lyonnais and Société Générale. At the end of January, the Belgian government and BNP negotiated a 75% partnership with Fortis Bank Belgium. Fortis Insurance Belgium would be reintegrated into Fortis Holding. [14] Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the US government used the case to punish the France for selling Mistral amphibious assault ships to Russia. He said the heavy fine and imposition of sanctions on the French bank was the result of U.S. dissatisfaction with the France`s decision not to stop the sale. [41] Former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet had previously said that a hefty fine was neither fair nor proportionate to the violations and could disrupt the global banking system. [38] In 2016, bnp reached a $40 million settlement with a Jewish employee. [34] The employee was required to watch a training video. The film depicts Adolf Hitler as the CEO of Deutsche Bank, a competitor of BNP and the Nazi soldiers around him as Deutsche Bank executives. The video showed Hitler shouting at the soldiers. His colleagues also made a number of anti-Semitic comments during his time at BNP Paribas.
[35] In 2006, BNP Paribas acquired Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), Italy`s sixth largest bank. The bank was reprivatized in 1993 under the leadership of Michel Pébereau as part of the privatization policy of a second Chirac government. [7] [8] In 2021, total revenue of €46.2 billion represents an increase of 4.4% compared to 2020, while BNP Paribas remains at the top of the ranking of French banks in terms of activity. This year, net income attributable to BNP Paribas Group shareholders amounted to 34.3% (to €9.5 billion). Michael Lusk published an article on the case entitled “Does banks` internal control system work?” [54] After the fine was announced, BNP stated that it would be “fine” and that it had “a comprehensive plan” to avoid similar violations in the future. The company`s stock, which had fallen 12 percent since the investigation news first leaked, rose 4 percent after the announcement. [38] [39] In order to comply with the transaction ban, BNP Paribas will engage a third party to process its transactions in the United States. Standard & Poor`s said it was reviewing the bank`s financial situation in light of the fine and penalties for possible deterioration. [38] Armin S also brought an action in Paris for €152 million, the competent court being still unknown. [59] From 1872 to 1913, she helped raise funds for the French and other governments, as well as for large corporations, through a series of bond issues.