Awards for Excellence 2009: France

BNP Paribas earned €3 billion for the whole of 2008 but its first-quarter 2009 results were particularly instructive. They were far better than expected. Revenues rose 28% on the same period a year earlier to €9.5 billion and were up 95% on the fourth quarter of 2008. The corporate and investment bank had a stellar first quarter, particularly in fixed income, but its retail banking performance was also strong and, with the prospect of additional firepower in the form of Fortis, suggests that this bank has come out of the crisis stronger. Although the domestic market in France has been relatively unaffected by lending excesses or real estate bubbles it still has not been plain sailing for French banks. In a tough year BNPP had by far the best results among its peers. Having gained some 200,000 customers during the course of 2008, its growth accelerated by some 65,000 in the first three months of 2009. BNP Paribas now has the largest deposit base in Europe – something that will likely stand in its favour given the woes in wholesale funding markets.