2006 Sustainable development report

Chairman’s and chief executive officer’s statement

As the bank for a changing world, BNP Paribas participates to the full extent of its capabilities in the development of exchanges of goods and services. It is a committed player in this process and one that aims to act responsibly, in line with its principles and its values.

In 2006 our Group experienced unprecedented growth. Excellent results were achieved across all our business segments. Our satisfaction and pride come from creating value, wealth and sustainable, skilled employment opportunities. Today the Group employs 140,000 people around the world, including more than 30,000 staff who joined the Group in the course of the year. This vigorous growth contributes to the renewal of the Group’s capabilities and expertise and bolsters its long-term viability.

The recent conclusions reported by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change (IGECC) in Paris reinforce BNP Paribas’ commitment to combating climate change.

Having been active for many years in projects to finance renewable energies, BNP Paribas was chosen Best project finance arranger and Most aggressive project finance lender in the renewable energies sector by Project Finance magazine.

We have created a Carbon Team to provide trading and financing products to enable our clients to seize the opportunities related to CO2 emission quota mechanisms.

The awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Mohammed Yunas for his actions in favour of micro-lending underlines the importance of access to banking services in effectively fighting poverty. Building on its earlier actions in this field, particularly in France through ADIE, in 2006 the BNP Paribas Group began to develop a worldwide micro-lending activity with the ambitious objective of creating more than 30 partnerships with microlending institutions in 15 countries by 2010.

Our Group has strengthened its commitment as a socially responsible enterprise and community outreach player, with the Projet Banlieues initiative in France to help disadvantaged neighbourhoods and programmes to combat social exclusion through education and knowledge transfer in several other countries. These actions will be continued and intensified in 2007.

This report is specifically dedicated to BNP Paribas’ social and environmental responsibility.

It presents our approach and the actions we carried out in 2006.