BNP Paribas brings together two French banking lines. The Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris was created by decree in March 1848 to restart credit after the February Revolution, and in 1966 merged with BNCI to form Banque Nationale de Paris. Paribas began on 27 January 1872, when the Banque de Paris merged with Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim's Amsterdam bank. In 1999 Société Générale bid for Paribas and BNP bid for both; BNP won Paribas, and the merger was completed in May 2000.
How the bank makes money
BNP Paribas reported FY2025 revenues of ~$57.9 billion (€51.2 billion) and net income of ~$13.8 billion (€12.2 billion). Commercial, Personal Banking & Services, which includes the retail banks in France, Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg, Personal Finance and Arval, produced ~$30.2 billion (€26.7 billion). Corporate & Institutional Banking produced ~$21.5 billion (€19.0 billion), and Investment & Protection Services, which includes Cardif and asset management, ~$7.8 billion (€6.9 billion).
The 2014 US sanctions case
In 2014 BNP Paribas pleaded guilty in New York and agreed to pay about $8.9 billion for processing transactions for Sudan, Iran and Cuba in breach of US sanctions. The Sudan business still follows the bank: in October 2025 a New York jury awarded $20.75 million to three Sudanese refugees, a verdict BNP Paribas is appealing.
Leaving US retail banking
BNP Paribas sold Bank of the West to BMO Financial Group for $16.3 billion in cash on 1 February 2023, keeping its US corporate and institutional business.
Recent deals
Cardif bought AXA Investment Managers for ~$5.76 billion (€5.1 billion) in July 2025. In April 2026 BNP Paribas Fortis sold its 25% of AG Insurance to Ageas while Cardif raised its Ageas stake to 22.5%, and on 31 July 2026 Arval completed its purchase of Athlon, reaching a combined fleet of 2.3 million vehicles. BNP Paribas targets a return on tangible equity above 13% by 2028 and will present a 2030 plan in February 2027.
