The BNP Paribas Group was created in 2000 from the merger of BNP and Paribas. The new group thus inherited two major banking traditions: that of BNP, the first French bank, whose origins date back to 1848, and that of Paribas, an investment bank founded in 1872.
Today the number one bank in the eurozone (‘Forbes Global 2000’, 2011), BNP Paribas is a major player at the international level. The bank emerged from the global banking crisis of 2008-2009 stronger than ever, with new and deep roots in Italy and Belgium. BNL banca commerciale, founded in 1913, was acquired in 2006. Fortis, originally part of the prestigious Société Groupe de Belgique founded in 1822, joined the Group in 2009 and became BNP Paribas Fortis.
Milestones in the History of the Group
Focus – The “AFHE BNP Paribas” Award for Economic History
The “AFHE BNP Paribas” Award for economic history results from an initiative between The French History Association (AFHE) and BNP Paribas. It awards two PhD graduates who have published a thesis in the field of history or the social sciences, with a particular focus on economic history. This award aims to increase the visibility and research development of this discipline.
The two winners of the 2011 “AFHE BNP Paribas” economic history award are Mr. Laurent Herment and Mrs. Virginie Mathé.
Michel Pébereau, Honorary Chairman of BNP Paribas and Chairman of the BNP Paribas Foundation, explains why BNP Paribas is committed to supporting the study of economic history.
First and foremost, because BNP Paribas is itself an important player in the history of economics, as well as being, of course, a key player in the history that we’re making today. Our Group has been closely linked with economic history since it was first established. For example, the Comptoir national d’escompte de Paris, one of the two original companies that grew to become BNP, was founded in 1848 in the midst of an economic and political crisis, with the aim of restoring the liquidity of France’s then-blocked credit and savings mechanisms. It’s interesting to note that the founding of this firm was strongly supported by the key Parisian publishers of the time – Pagnerre, Hachette and Firmin-Didot. It’s even more interesting to observe that BNP Paribas is still the banker of choice for the major publishing houses, and that we continue to faithfully perform our task of financing the real economy – using today's tools, of course.
Our Group’s efforts to encourage historical awareness have borne their first fruits within the company itself: in a firm that has experienced rapid growth and has integrated a great many new employees, we have focused on improving our ability to communicate and share our common history, on developing a sense of belonging, on increasing our knowledge about the history of entities that have recently joined the Group or of business activities that are sometimes quite different from our traditional business lines.
As a major economic player, it’s also our responsibility to advance the knowledge of economics and of economic history in order to contribute to a better understanding of the economic issues that arise in national and international debates. By strengthening our Archives and History Department and opening up access to researchers, we are helping to achieve these objectives. All of these initiatives reflect, within their own fields, the efforts to promote education and access to knowledge that are supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation, over which I have the honour to preside.
Read the press release about the “AFHE BNP Paribas” Economic History Award ceremony (in French)
