What is BNP Paribas?

BNP Paribas is a French multinational bank that provides retail and corporate banking in 74 countries worldwide. BNP stands for Banque Nationale de Paris.

Where have you heard about BNP Paribas?

BNP Paribas was ranked as the 10th biggest bank in the world in 2016 and the 24th largest public company in the world, according to the Forbes Global 2000 list.

In 2014, the French bank made the news after falsifying business records in the US. The United States Department of Justice ordered BNP Paribas to pay an $8.9 billion fine and banned them from some US dollar-dominated transactions for 12 months. The fine was the largest on record for breaching US federal regulations and was significantly more than the bank’s $6.4 billion income in 2013.

What you need to know about BNP Paribas.

In 2016, BNP Paribas had a market value of $66.8 billion. It is listed on both the CAC 40 index (Cotation Assistée en Continu, French stock market index) and the First Market of Euronext Paris (France's securities market).

France, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg make up BNP Paribas’ four domestic markets, across which it serves 30 million customers.

BNP Paribas was born in 2000 after a merger of the Banque Nationale de Paris S.A. (BNP), which was established in 1966, and Paribas or the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas S.A., which was established in 1872. Both BNP and Paribas were also formed by mergers.

The bank offers two main types of financial services:

Retail Banking & Services (RBS) – this includes corporate vehicle leasing, leasing solutions and personal investment in domestic markets, as well as international financial services such as personal finance, asset management and real estate.

Corporate Institutional Banking (CIB) – this includes investment in global markets, securities services, and treasury, finance and advisory services for corporate and institutional clients.