2018 Registration document and annual fi nancial report - BNP PARIBAS 5
1PRESENTATION OF THE BNP PARIBAS GROUP
1
History
LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM RATINGS
Long-term and short-term ratings as at 6 March 2018
Long-term and short-term ratings as at 5 March 2019 Outlook Date of last review
Standard & Poor s A/A-1 A/A-1 Positive 4 July 2018
Fitch A+/F1 A+/F1 Stable 21 June 2018
Moody s Aa3/Prime-1 Aa3/Prime-1 Stable 27 September 2017
DBRS AA (low)/R-1 (middle) AA (low)/R-1 (middle) Stable 13 July 2018
On 4 July 2018, Standard & Poor s confi rmed the long-term credit rating of BNP Paribas at A with improving the outlook to positive .
On 21 June 2018, Fitch confi rmed the long-term rating of BNP Paribas at A+ with a stable outlook.
On 27 September 2017, following its review, Moody s upgraded the long- term rating of BNP Paribas from A1 to Aa3, with a stable outlook.
On 13 July 2018, DBRS confi rmed the long-term rating of BNP Paribas at AA (low) with a stable outlook.
1.3 History
1966: Creation of BNP The merger of BNCI and CNEP to form BNP represented the largest restructuring operation in the French banking sector since the end of the Second World War.
1968: Creation of Compagnie Financière de Paris et des Pays-Bas
1982: Nationalisation of BNP and Compagnie Financière de Paris et des Pays-Bas at the time of the nationalisation of all French banks
In the 1980s, deregulation of the banking sector and the growing tendency of borrowers to raise funds directly on the fi nancial market transformed the banking business in France and worldwide.
1987: Privatisation of Compagnie Financière de Paribas
With 3.8 million individual shareholders, Compagnie Financière de Paribas had more shareholders than any other company in the world. Compagnie Financière de Paribas owned 48% of the capital of Compagnie Bancaire.
1993: Privatisation of BNP BNP s return to the private sector represented a new start. The 1990s were marked by a change in the level of profi tability of the Bank, which had the highest return on equity of any major French institution in 1998. This period was marked by the launch of new banking products and services, the development of activities on the fi nancial markets, expansion in France and at the international level, and preparation for the advent of the euro.
1998: Creation of Paribas On 12 May 1998, the merger between Compagnie Financière de Paribas, Banque Paribas and Compagnie Bancaire was approved.
1999: A momentous year for the Group Following an unprecedented double tender offer and a stock market battle waged over six months, BNP was in a position to carry out a merger of equals with Paribas. For both groups, this was the most important event since their privatisation. It gave rise to a new Group with tremendous prospects. At a time of economic globalisation, the merger created a leading player in the European banking sector.
2000: Creation of BNP Paribas BNP and Paribas merged on 23 May 2000.
The new Group derived its strength from the two major fi nancial and banking lines from which it descends. It has two goals: to create value for shareholders, clients and employees by building the bank of the future, and to become a leading global player.
2006: Acquisition of BNL in Italy BNP Paribas acquired BNL, Italy s 6th-largest bank. This acquisition transformed BNP Paribas, providing it with access to a second domestic market in Europe. In both Italy and France, all of the Group s businesses can now develop their activities by leveraging a nationwide banking network.
2009: Merger with the Fortis group BNP Paribas took control of Fortis Bank and BGL (Banque Générale du Luxembourg).
