History

Industrial expansion in the 19th century prompted the establishment of the forerunners of BNP Paribas

The banks that later constituted BNP Paribas were established and expanded during the extraordinary period of industrial growth in Europe in the 19th century. They were involved in the second banking revolution which tapped into the requisite savings to finance economic growth.

The pioneer was Société Générale de Belgique, the forerunner of BNP Paribas Fortis, which was established in Brussels in 1822. It invented mixed banking in combining retail banking and shareholdings in companies, and was later imitated by the Pereire brothers’ Crédit Mobilier.

France experienced a political revolution and an economic meltdown in 1848, but in that year public authorities combined with private interests to establish discounting houses (“comptoirs d’escompte”) intended to facilitate credit circuits. This led to the birth of two of the forerunners of BNP: Comptoir National d’Escompte de Paris (CNEP), which was supported by Parisian publishers and booksellers, and Comptoir National d’Escompte de Mulhouse, which received support from industry in Alsace. With the trade opening after the Franco-British treaty was signed in 1860, the Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris developed a solid international presence on leading markets, particularly in Asia, and became the “French Bank” abroad.

European bankers established Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (Paribas) in 1872 to raise funds to borrow to free up regions and, on a longer term, to acquire shareholdings in companies and acquire a stake on capital markets. This heralded the birth of a major investment bank à la française.

Banking is not a risk-free endeavour, especially not in the 19th century. After a stock market collapse that forced the discounting house to dissolve and be re-established in 1889, the Comptoir d’Escompte de Paris re-emerged as a leading bank and model for risk management. On the eve of the First World War, the Istituto nazionale di credito per la cooperazione, the forerunner of BNL, was established in Rome to facilitate the transformation of Italy’s rural economy.

The forerunners of BNP Paribas expand and reinvent themselves despite crises

The banks that later made up BNP Paribas supported the war effort during the First World War in assisting government bond issues and mobilising many of its employees. The proportion of women staff members rose considerably during this time.

With inflation and economic instability following the Great War, the interwar period was a time of strategic reorientation and above all of trials and tribulations culminating in the Depression of the 1930s. Banque Nationale de Crédit (BNC), emerging out of Comptoir d’escompte de Mulhouse in 1913, collapsed in 1932 as a result of excessive commitment to loans to vulnerable companies. It re-emerged as Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BNCI) in 1932 and under the impulse and leadership of Alfred Pose, the BNCI became the most dynamic banking institution in France.

Under Managing Director Horace Finaly, Paribas tapped into other avenues for development in the latest industries (electricity and oil) and new regions, central Europe in particular. After a period of economic listlessness during the Second World War, the CNEP and the BNCI were nationalised in 1945 and took part in the reconstruction of the French economy, whilst Paribas specialised in financing large-scale projects and helping major French companies abroad.

Banking innovations made their appearance in France: personal loans in 1959 and SICAV open-ended investment schemes in 1963. Jacques de Fouchier, a brilliant and imaginative financier, set up Cetelem, which financed the first consumer loans in 1953.

Birth of BNP in 1966 and development of a Group with European ambitions in line with the modernisation of society

As part of a program to stimulate the economy and banking sector, the French government merged the CNEP and the BNCI in 1966 to create a new bank, BNP (Banque nationale de Paris), the new French leader. This was a very dynamic period with banks very highly present in society, especially for women and young people. BNP opened many branches, was a participant in the launch of the carte bleue bank card in 1967 and became highly noticeable thanks to its very modern advertisements (for women in 1968) and bold ones (“Votre argent m’intéresse” – I want your money – in 1973). Growth in computing facilities accompanied business growth and the bank grew increasingly international.

Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas merged in 1966 with the Compagnie bancaire of Jacques de Fouchier, who continued to establish innovative subsidiaries in insurance (Cardif, 1973) and brokerage (Cortal 1984).

After a short period of nationalisation in 1982 following the shift in politics in France, Paribas (which adopted the name in 1982) and then BNP were privatised in 1986 and 1993. BNP under the leadership of Michel Pébereau began to build a group intended to become the leader in Europe: stronger risk controls, new alliances and more modern banking tools. In 1999, following a memorable stock market battle and a takeover bid, BNP acquired a controlling stake in Paribas and thereby established the BNP Paribas group which transcended a merger of two banks to become the integrated foundation of new and dynamic movement, as reflected by its new logo “ the taking-flight symbol”.

Emergence of an international leader to face the challenges of the digital revolution and a changing world

Starting in 2000, Michel Pébereau, followed by Baudouin Prot and then Jean-Laurent Bonnafé have substantiated the ambition to create a genuinely European banking group with a global vocation. Acquisitions have significantly enhanced its strong European presence: TEB in Turkey in 2005, BNL in Italy in 2006, Fortis in Belgium and BGL in Luxembourg in 2009, BGZ in Poland, Laser Cofinoga in consumer loans and Dab Bank in Germany in 2014.

During the global financial meltdown that began in 2007, BNP Paribas was one of the very few large banks to post profits uninterruptedly thanks to risk controls, carefully considered and balanced acquisitions and business drive. Regulatory constraints arising from the financial meltdown have imposed adaptations (significant increase in own funds, separate operations) in financing and investment banking which the Group can embrace whilst continuing to serve its clients.

The early years of the 21st century also heralded the digital challenge for banking. Although BNP, Paribas and Compagnie bancaire had pioneered the change into multi-channel banking, the increasing pace of digitisation worldwide, growing mobility in client usage and the emergence of new players all require an increasingly reactive bank. This was the reasoning behind the establishment of Hello bank! In 2013 as the first bank entirely developed for mobile usage on a European scale along with the adaptation of domestic bank networks to clients’ new needs.