BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas Personal Finance is a division of BNP Paribas Group specializing in lending to individuals in the areas of consumer and mortgage lending. BNP Paribas Personal Finance - the No. 1 company in this market in France and Europe - has 28,000 employees in more than 30 countries on 4 continents.

BNP Paribas is one of the 6 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's * and is the largest bank in the Eurozone in terms of deposits. BNP Paribas - one of the European leaders on an international scale in the field of financial services - is present in 80 countries and has over 200,000 employees, of which 160,000 are in countries Europe. BNP Paribas holds key positions in three main areas of business: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions, Corporate and Investment Banking Services. The bank develops an integrated business model in the Europe-Mediterranean region and has a wide network of bank branches in. USA BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending in Europe. In the areas of Corporate and Investment Banking Services and Investment Solutions, BNP Paribas also occupies a leading position in Europe and has a stable business in where it Asia actively develops its activities.

BNP Paribas Personal Finance, primarily operating under the Cetelem brand, offers a full range of private customer lending products through sales centers and dealerships, accredited providers, brokers, real estate agents, promoters and direct sales channels through its own customer centers and internet.

Aktivs

2022: Bank assets - 103% of France's GDP

Data as of December 31, 2022 Toronto-Dominion Bank Data - January 31, 2023

History

2024: Bank downgrade by Moody's

In December 2024, Moody's Corp. downgraded seven French banks, including BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA, while continuing to assess the impact of political turmoil in France.

This reflects "Moody's view that France's public finances will be substantially weakened in the coming years as political fragmentation is likely to hinder significant fiscal consolidation."

2023: Gazprombank sued Mechel 11.9 billion rubles, which were supposed to be returned to the French BNP Paribas

The Moscow Arbitration Court decided to recover $244.2 million from the mining and metallurgical holding Mechel and the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (CHMK) in favor of Gazprombank. The reason for the claims was a loan agreement concluded in 2010 between Mechel and the French bank BNP Paribas. Read more here.

2022

Suspension of operations in Russia

Banking group BNP Paribas on March 21, 2022 announced that it was suspending operations in Russia.

Restriction of access to the IT system to employees from Russia against the background of a special operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine

France's largest bank, BNP Paribas, restricted access to its IT system to employees in Russia in March 2022. The bank fears cyber attacks amid confrontation between Russia and the West.

Former British employee sued $3 million from the bank for discrimination

In January 2022, a former employee of the French bank BNP Paribas, 50-year-old Briton Stacey Macken, sued her ex-employer for $3 million in compensation for humiliation. She was underpaid, abused and once left on her desktop a witch's hat.

Macken began working for BNP Paribas in 2013. She was hired, promising to pay 120,000 pounds ($161,300 at the current rate) per year. The previous specialist who took Macken's place was a man and received 160,000 pounds ($215,000) annually, but at the time of hiring the woman, no one reported this. Already during her work, one of her managers disliked the employee. He so often dismissed her questions and suggestions that the words "Not now, Stacey" became one of the winged expressions in the team. Other men often disrespected a female colleague, too.

Once before the Halloween celebration, they left a black pointed hat at Macken's workplace.

"Stacey was clearly upset and admitted to me that she was very uncomfortable working with these male colleagues, knowing that one of them made every effort to leave the witch's hat on her table," assistant Macken said at the trial.

The court ruled that the appearance of the hat on the table was "essentially a sexist act," and the constant use of "Not Now, Stacey" was found to be a "humiliating comment."

The amount of compensation for gender discrimination has become one of the largest in the history of the British court. It could have been much smaller, but for several years, while the proceedings lasted, the bank's management never admitted that it humiliated Macken, and did not apologize to her.

2021: Bank of the West sale for $16.3 billion

On December 20, 2021, BNP Paribas announced that the company had agreed to sell Bank of the West for $16.3 billion. It was acquired by Bank of Montreal. In total, the assets of banks will amount to about $870 billion. The deal is expected to close in 2022. Read more here.

2020

Sberbank bought Cetelem Bank from BNP Paribas

On October 15, 2020, Sberbank announced the purchase of a 20.8% stake in Cetelem Bank from a subsidiary of the French financial group BNP Paribas Personal Finance. As a result of the transaction, the largest credit institution in Russia becomes the sole owner of Cetel Bank. Read more here.

Investment in medical equipment manufacturer Withings

At the end of July 2020, the manufacturer of medical equipment Withings, which was once part of Nokia, attracted $60 million in investments. The company has focused its efforts on developing medical devices for data processing and personalized care and intends to use the funds received to expand its MED PRO division. Read more here.

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