BNP Paribas SA
Company History
BNP Paribas History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2000 in Paris, France
When was BNP Paribas founded?
BNP Paribas was founded in 2000 in Paris, France by Michel Pébereau, Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim and Laurent-Antoine Pagnerre, making it 26 years old.
- Founded
- 2000
- Founding place
- Paris, France
- Founders
- Michel Pébereau, Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim and Laurent-Antoine Pagnerre
- Headquarters today
- Paris, France
- Milestones documented
- 19 (1848–2026)
- Current CEO
- Jean-Laurent Bonnafé
- Acquisitions
- 7
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1848 | Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris founded |
| 1860 | First overseas branches in Shanghai and Calcutta |
| 1872 | Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas formed |
| 1889 | Comptoir rescued after the copper crash |
| 1966 | Banque Nationale de Paris created |
| 1982 | Paribas nationalised |
| 1987 | Paribas privatised |
| 1993 | BNP privatised |
| 1999 | Three-way takeover battle |
| 2000 | BNP Paribas created |
| 2001 | Full ownership of BancWest |
| 2006 | BNL acquired in Italy |
| 2009 | Fortis Bank acquired in Belgium |
| 2014 | US sanctions guilty plea |
| 2023 | Bank of the West sold to BMO |
| 2025 | AXA Investment Managers acquired |
| 2025 | Sudan jury verdict |
| 2026 | Ageas partnership reset |
| 2026 | Arval completes Athlon purchase |
- Where was BNP Paribas founded?
- BNP Paribas was founded in Paris, France in 2000.
- Who founded BNP Paribas?
- BNP Paribas was founded by Michel Pébereau, Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim and Laurent-Antoine Pagnerre.
- When did BNP Paribas start?
- BNP Paribas was founded in 2000.
- How old is BNP Paribas?
- BNP Paribas is 26 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
BNP Paribas has two family trees. The BNP side starts with the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP), created by decree in March 1848 to restart credit after the February Revolution; publisher Laurent-Antoine Pagnerre was its first director and many early backers came from the Paris book trade. CNEP opened branches in Shanghai and Calcutta in 1860, was nationalised in 1945 and merged with the Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI) in 1966 to form Banque Nationale de Paris. The Paribas side began with Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim's Amsterdam bank, which became the Nederlandsche Credit- en Deposito Bank in 1863 and merged with the Banque de Paris on 27 January 1872. In 1999 Société Générale bid for Paribas and BNP bid for both; BNP won Paribas but not Société Générale, and the merger was completed in May 2000.
Founders
Michel Pébereau
Pébereau became chairman and chief executive of BNP in 1993 and steered its privatisation that October. In 1999, after Société Générale bid for Paribas, he launched BNP's competing offers for both banks. BNP failed to win Société Générale but took control of Paribas, and the merged BNP Paribas was completed in May 2000. Pébereau was chairman and CEO of the new group until 2003, when Baudouin Prot became CEO, and stayed on as chairman until 2011. He chaired the board when BNP Paribas completed its takeover of Fortis Bank in May 2009.
Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim
Bischoffsheim founded a private bank in Amsterdam in the early 1820s, opened Bischoffsheim, Goldschmidt & Cie in Paris in 1846 and in London in 1860, and in 1863 merged these houses into the Nederlandsche Credit- en Deposito Bank in Amsterdam. On 27 January 1872 that bank combined with the Banque de Paris, founded in 1869 by a group including Adrien Delahante, Edmond Joubert, Henri Cernuschi and Eugène Goüin, to form the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. In its first year the new bank co-led, with Crédit Lyonnais, the syndicate that placed a third of the French government's loan to pay the Franco-Prussian War indemnity. Renamed Paribas in 1982, it became the investment-banking half of BNP Paribas in 2000.
Laurent-Antoine Pagnerre
After the 1847 economic crisis and the February Revolution of 1848 froze credit in Paris, the provisional government created discount banks by decree in March 1848. Pagnerre became the first director of the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris, whose ~$24 million (20 million francs) of capital came in thirds from private subscribers, many of them booksellers and publishers, from the City of Paris and from the State. Hippolyte Biesta succeeded him the same year. The Comptoir became a private company in 1854, opened branches in Shanghai and Calcutta in 1860, and in 1966 merged with BNCI to form Banque Nationale de Paris, the BNP half of BNP Paribas.
Key Milestones
Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris founded
Created by decree in March 1848 to restart commercial credit after the February Revolution, with capital from private subscribers, the City of Paris and the State. It is the oldest root of the BNP side of the group.
Source: histoire.bnpparibasFirst overseas branches in Shanghai and Calcutta
The Comptoir opened branches in Shanghai and Calcutta, becoming the first French bank to build a branch network abroad from scratch, later adding Hong Kong, London, San Francisco and Sydney.
Source: histoire.bnpparibasBanque de Paris et des Pays-Bas formed
The Banque de Paris, founded in 1869, merged on 27 January 1872 with Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim's Amsterdam-based Nederlandsche Credit- en Deposito Bank to create the investment bank later known as Paribas.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgComptoir rescued after the copper crash
Losses on industrialist Eugène Secrétan's attempt to corner the copper market forced the Comptoir d'escompte de Paris into liquidation, backed by a 100-million-franc Banque de France advance. It was refounded in June 1889 as a deposit bank.
Source: fr.wikipedia.orgBanque Nationale de Paris created
Finance minister Michel Debré merged the state-owned CNEP and Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (BNCI) to form Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP).
Source: fr.wikipedia.orgParibas nationalised
The Mauroy government nationalised Paribas, which adopted its telegraph address, Paribas, as its brand that year.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgParibas privatised
The Chirac government returned Paribas to private ownership in January 1987.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBNP privatised
BNP was privatised in October 1993 under chairman Michel Pébereau.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThree-way takeover battle
Société Générale bid for Paribas, and BNP answered with offers for both banks. BNP won control of Paribas but failed to take Société Générale.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBNP Paribas created
The merger of BNP and Paribas was completed in May 2000, combining BNP's retail network with Paribas's investment banking.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFull ownership of BancWest
BNP Paribas agreed to buy the 55% of BancWest, parent of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, that it did not already own for about $2.45 billion. The Federal Reserve approved the deal on 4 December 2001.
Source: group.bnpparibasBNL acquired in Italy
BNP Paribas bought Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, making Italy its second domestic retail market.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFortis Bank acquired in Belgium
In May 2009 BNP Paribas took control of Fortis Bank, now BNP Paribas Fortis, paying with new shares issued to the Belgian state and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It also bought 25% of AG Insurance for ~$1.55 billion (€1.375 billion).
Source: group.bnpparibasUS sanctions guilty plea
BNP Paribas pleaded guilty in New York and agreed to pay about $8.9 billion for processing dollar transactions for Sudan, Iran and Cuba in breach of US sanctions.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBank of the West sold to BMO
BNP Paribas completed the $16.3 billion cash sale of Bank of the West to BMO Financial Group on 1 February 2023, leaving US retail banking.
Source: group.bnpparibasAXA Investment Managers acquired
BNP Paribas Cardif completed the ~$5.76 billion (€5.1 billion) purchase of AXA IM on 1 July 2025 and signed a long-term partnership to manage a large part of AXA's assets.
Source: group.bnpparibasSudan jury verdict
A Manhattan federal jury found BNP Paribas liable to three Sudanese refugees in October 2025 and awarded $20.75 million. The bank is appealing.
Source: aba.comAgeas partnership reset
On 28 April 2026 BNP Paribas Fortis sold its 25% of AG Insurance to Ageas for ~$2.15 billion (€1.9 billion) and renewed their Belgian bancassurance partnership, while Cardif raised its Ageas stake to 22.5%.
Source: group.bnpparibasArval completes Athlon purchase
Arval completed its purchase of Athlon from Mercedes-Benz Group on 31 July 2026, reaching a combined fleet of 2.3 million vehicles.
Source: group.bnpparibasMajor Acquisitions
AXA Investment Managers
2025BNP Paribas Cardif bought AXA IM from AXA to build a larger European asset manager and signed a long-term partnership to manage a large part of AXA's assets.
Athlon
2026Arval bought Athlon, the vehicle leasing business of Mercedes-Benz Group, to gain scale in long-term leasing.
Additional stake in Ageas
2026BNP Paribas Cardif invested ~$1.24 billion (€1.1 billion), partly through Ageas's capital increase, as part of a reset of the two groups' insurance partnership.
Fortis Bank (now BNP Paribas Fortis)
2009During the financial crisis BNP Paribas took control of Fortis Bank from the Belgian state, paying in new BNP Paribas shares.
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL)
2006BNP Paribas bought Rome-based BNL to add a second domestic retail market in Italy.
BancWest Corporation (remaining 55%)
2001BNP Paribas bought the 55% of BancWest, parent of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, that it did not already own, at $35 a share in cash.
Nickel (Compte-Nickel)
2017BNP Paribas bought a majority stake in Nickel, a no-frills payment account sold through French tobacconists.
Keep researching BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas Company History FAQ
When was BNP Paribas founded?
BNP Paribas was created when the merger of BNP and Paribas was completed in May 2000. Its oldest predecessor, the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris, dates from March 1848, and Paribas from 27 January 1872.
What happened in the 1999 takeover battle?
Société Générale bid for Paribas in early 1999, and BNP answered with offers for both Société Générale and Paribas. BNP won control of Paribas but failed to take Société Générale.
How did BNP Paribas expand after 2000?
It took full control of BancWest in 2001, bought BNL in Italy in 2006 and Fortis Bank in Belgium in 2009, acquired Nickel in 2017 and AXA Investment Managers in 2025, and completed Arval's purchase of Athlon in 2026.
What was the 2014 US sanctions case?
BNP Paribas pleaded guilty in 2014 and agreed to pay about $8.9 billion for processing US dollar transactions for Sudan, Iran and Cuba in breach of US sanctions.
When did BNP Paribas sell Bank of the West?
The $16.3 billion cash sale to BMO Financial Group was completed on 1 February 2023, ending BNP Paribas's US retail banking business.
When did BNP Paribas launch Hello bank!?
BNP Paribas launched Hello bank!, its mobile-first retail brand, in May 2013.
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