The European Central Bank has made it clear that it would look favourably on big bank mergers to create stronger pan-eurozone lenders. But M&A between large lenders in different eurozone states is still stalling through financial and political fragmentation – despite hopes for a closer union after Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

BNP Paribas has made an environmental, social and governance virtue out of its legacy commitment to the mining and energy sectors in Latin America. A decade ago, the bank saw which way the wind was blowing and, noting that it was towards renewable power turbines, moved early into sustainable finance.

BNP Paribas is western Europe’s best bank for financing. It ranks first in the Dealogic bookrunner rankings in debt capital markets, ahead of Deutsche Bank in second place, JPMorgan in third, Barclays in fourth and HSBC fifth.

While it has been a leader for many years in European debt and loan financing, BNP Paribas has in recent years built out its secondary markets businesses. It now includes a full service offering in equities as well as fixed income currencies and commodities (FICC) across research, secondary markets, prime services, derivatives and capital markets.

Best Bank: BNP Paribas Fortis

Best Investment Bank: BNP Paribas

Always a strong candidate in this category, BNP Paribas has made great progress in its ambitious decarbonization commitments this year, in addition to prioritizing high social-impact and inclusive-finance goals.

The French bank has been busy with landmark deals and financial innovation.

The French bank has long had global scale in fixed income, now it has the same ambitions for its equity franchise too.

From energy transition to Libor transition, the French bank is the go-to firm for many corporate clients in a time of flux. This is the result of longstanding relationships and new investment in core sectors of the franchise.

The drive to make finance sustainable relies on robust data. This is something that the French bank has been working on for a decade.

BNP Paribas’s top private banker talks to Euromoney about his love of Brittany’s rough seas, the power of ESG, and digital’s ability to transform and improve every step of the client journey.

The rates sell-off is making it more expensive for high-yield and high-grade borrowers to access the bond markets. Maturities on offer are shortening, and it could be about to get much worse.

Crossed wires on an analyst call had many scratching their heads.

The acquisition of Bank of the West by Bank of Montreal is complementary and affordable, argues BMO’s chief executive Darryl White.

BNP Paribas has in effect ruled out using the proceeds of its US retail bank sale on big bank M&A in Europe.

Greater regulatory clarity, and perhaps a sale of Bank of the West, leave the French bank with the happy dilemma of what to do with excess capital.

One sustainability expert takes humanizing the narrative to new levels.

Sustainable finance and renewable energy are becoming more important for the French firm, as it reduces its emphasis on equity derivatives.

Australia is not the first country that comes to mind with regards to climate action. But away from the political rhetoric, the exceptionally powerful superannuation funds and corporates are pushing change. The key is an acceptance that in Australia it’s all about transition.

Societe Generale’s decision to launch a joint treasury management solution with Kyriba is just the latest example of banks and technology vendors collaborating to offer more sophisticated treasury functionality.

The French bank’s innovative and collaborative approach to data is central to its sustainable finance strategy.

In a year when the race to net zero really got under way, biodiversity protection rose to the top of the agenda and Covid exacerbated the need for social support, one bank stood out for innovation, breadth of coverage and rigorous use of data

In a tough year, quality and quantity mattered to the public sector. BNP Paribas offered both.

As well as winning the best bank and best bank for financing awards, BNP Paribas is also western Europe’s best bank for sustainable finance.

It’s not often any bank sits above JPMorgan in an important financing league table, but BNP Paribas far outstrips the US bank as a bookrunner both of syndicated loans and of debt capital markets deals for borrowers in western Europe.

Business diversification has proved to be a crucial asset for BNP Paribas over the past year. Relatively intact operations such as fixed income trading have provided vital props to its financial performance compared with local rivals that had made deeper cuts to those businesses pre-Covid. Post-pandemic the bank has become even more important as a financier to its western European clients. It has also moved earlier than other top-tier global banks to burnish its sustainability credentials.

The French lender’s wealth management university, introduced in 2017, is central to its ability to train private bankers to reach out and serve the high-net-worth clients the bank cannot afford to lose.

The leading FX banks have introduced notable enhancements to their electronic trading platforms in recent months in an attempt to make them more attractive to traders that are still working away from their offices.

In executing what may be the biggest European corporate Sofr-linked swap yet, BMW has shown what well-prepared company treasuries and their advisory banks can achieve as the sun sets on Libor.