BNP Paribas vs FedEx: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: BNP Paribas and FedEx side by side

1. 1848BNP Paribas

   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.

2. 1860BNP Paribas

   First 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.

3. 1872BNP Paribas

   Banque 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.

4. 1889BNP Paribas

   Comptoir 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.

5. 1966BNP Paribas

   Banque 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).

6. 1971FedEx

   Federal Express Founded

   Frederick W. Smith incorporates Federal Express Corporation, planning to build an overnight air-delivery network around a central Memphis hub.

7. 1973FedEx

   Commercial Operations Begin

   Federal Express begins commercial service from Memphis using a hub-and-spoke overnight model, surviving early near-bankruptcy on fuel costs.

8. 1978FedEx

   FedEx Goes Public

   The company completes its initial public offering to finance network expansion.

9. 1982BNP Paribas

   Paribas nationalised

   The Mauroy government nationalised Paribas, which adopted its telegraph address, Paribas, as its brand that year.

10. 1987BNP Paribas

    Paribas privatised

    The Chirac government returned Paribas to private ownership in January 1987.

11. 1993BNP Paribas

    BNP privatised

    BNP was privatised in October 1993 under chairman Michel Pébereau.

12. 1998FedEx

    Caliber System Acquisition

    FedEx acquires Caliber System for about $2.4 billion, adding the assets that become FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight.

13. 1999BNP Paribas

    Three-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.

14. 2000BNP Paribas

    BNP Paribas created

    The merger of BNP and Paribas was completed in May 2000, combining BNP's retail network with Paribas's investment banking.

15. 2001BNP Paribas

    Full 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.

16. 2004FedEx

    Acquired Kinko's

    FedEx acquired Kinko's for $2.4 billion. FedEx bought Kinko's for about $2.4 billion and rebranded the stores as FedEx Office.

17. 2006BNP Paribas

    BNL acquired in Italy

    BNP Paribas bought Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, making Italy its second domestic retail market.

18. 2009BNP Paribas

    Fortis 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).

19. 2014BNP Paribas

    US 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.

20. 2016FedEx

    TNT Express Acquisition

    FedEx acquires TNT Express for about $4.4 billion to expand its European and international express network.

21. 2022FedEx

    Raj Subramaniam Becomes CEO

    Raj Subramaniam succeeds founder Frederick W. Smith as CEO, becoming only the second CEO in FedEx history, and launches the DRIVE and Network 2.0 transformation programs.

22. 2023BNP Paribas

    Bank 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.

23. 2025BNP Paribas

    AXA 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.

24. 2025BNP Paribas

    Sudan 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.

25. 2025FedEx

    Founder Fred Smith Dies

    Frederick W. Smith dies on June 21, 2025. Longtime director R. Brad Martin becomes chairman and later executive chairman.

26. 2026BNP Paribas

    Ageas 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%.

27. 2026BNP Paribas

    Arval 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.

28. 2026FedEx

    FedEx Freight Spin-Off Completed

    On June 1, 2026 FedEx completes the spin-off of FedEx Freight Holding Company, which begins trading on the NYSE as FDXF.

29. 2026FedEx

    FY2026 Revenue Reaches $94.7B

    FedEx reports $94.720 billion in FY2026 revenue, $4.433 billion in net income, and capex of 4.0% of revenue, a record low ratio.

Acquisitions

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