BNP Paribas is celebrating today its ten years

BNP Paribas is celebrating today its ten years. Public bank for nearly a half century before be privatized in 1993, the ex-BNP (for Banque Nationale de Paris) in effect taken real off in 1999 in passing at the end of a battle, stock market seven months become almost mythical to get their hands on the "jewel" Paribas, to the chagrin of the Société Générale. It was then the clash of two cultures. On the one hand, a bank a little diesel, culture "frenchie" enough administrative, traditional, and adverse to risk. On the other, an institution turbo, innovative, and profiled for opportunities.

Of course, there are crackles, conflicts and departures on the site of the merger. But the reconciliation of the two banks, under the tutelage of Michel Pébereau, is quickly seen as a success. Then begins a period of accelerated development, where the caution of BNP is still - embodied by the famous principle of "targeted and disciplined acquisitions" expensive Baudouin Prot, its current Director-General - but where the audacity of Paribas to express themselves. Result, between 1999 and 2003, redemptions derive one-third the growth of revenues from the new group, renamed BNP Paribas.

The list of operations, small or medium-sized, carried out during this period is long. They affect sectors as varied as the rental of vehicles (PHH Europe, 2000), the private bank (JP Morgan Spain, 2002), the administration of funds (Cogent in 2002), the brokerage (Consors in Germany, 2002) or credit for consumption (Facet, 2002). And they reflect the will of the group to be competitive, and this in all compartments of the game or almost.

But it is no doubt in the retail bank that BNP Paribas is to illustrate the most in the following years. First, by IRAP, rare at the time for a European Bank, to build a network in the United States. From its subsidiary BancWest, which it took in 2001 complete control, Baudouin Prot, operational pattern from 2003, embarks on a series of acquisitions (United California, Community First, Commercial Federal) which enables him in fine, to build the third Retail Bank West of the Mississippi. Then, the group, which has left to escape a few beads in Eastern Europe even if, in 2005, he bought a Ukrainian bank, captive to the Mediterranean, and take root in Turkey (50 of TEB).

The Group has tripled volume

On its domestic market, on the other hand, BNP Paribas, including the number of agencies modest remains to one of mutual benefit competitors, continues to watch passing trains. After abandoning the CIC in the Crédit Mutuel in 1998 anyway and then the RTC of HSBC in 2000, it is the turn of the Crédit Lyonnais to pass under the cup of the Crédit Agricole in 2002. As the marriage with Société Générale, so often seen as inevitable by preachers from all sides, he released not cartons. The risk to appear like a colossus with feet of clay plane on BNP Paribas. While Group fortified its bank financing and investment with Paribas, developed elsewhere to pursue its rival red and black in derivatives shares. But it lacks a more imposing domestic retail banking. Never mind, BNP Paribas will push the boundaries of this market to extend it to the Italy, with the express purchase of BNL in 2006, and then to the Benelux, with the forceps of Fortis acquisition this year. And thus form the three domestic bank

In ten years, the Group has tripled volume: network approach the 7,000 agencies, employees are more than 200,000 customers exceed 17 million worldwide, its deposits reach EUR 540 billion in the euro area. In 1999, BNP had 80 of its net banking product in France, today the proportion is almost reversed. Other banks were known as significant developments in recent years. Few however were able to pass the Cape of the crisis to assert itself as one of the largest banks, the third by the capitalization, later however behind Spain's Santander and the British HSBC.

Leader in many occupations

Beyond its size, BNP Paribas was able, in the opinion of professionals in the sector, to forge solid assets: its leadership in several trades (fixed income, asset management, consumer credit, leasing, etc.), the quality of its management, its expertise in mergers and acquisitions, and a culture of risk management - even if its leaders were able to avoid all traps, as for example Madoff. So far, the Bank will have to deal with the new regulatory and financial environment, and the competition of the "new" American giants Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

At least three sites it await. Improve its ratio of hard equity, established at 7.2 end of June, to meet the new requirements of solvency of banks, prepared by the Basel Committee, and to repay the $ 5.1 billion of preferential shares subscribed by the State. Successful change of men to his head with the departure of Michel Pébereau term, his iconic President. And above all, work on improving its image, seriously wounded by two years of crisis, which will probably go through an amendment of the model. This is probably the greatest challenge of the next 10 years.