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Our culture and history

The origins of BNP Paribas CIB’s culture lie in our European heritage. Our working culture emphasises collaboration, mutual support and respect and a key focus on our clients.

We are 100% client focused; our success is a function of our capacity to help our clients realise their goals and everything we do is shaped by this idea. We are passionate about our work and maintain the highest principles of business ethics while continuing to strive for excellence in everything we do.

Our culture is expressed in our core behaviours – values and attitudes that we recognise as being fundamental to success. They are:

Responsiveness

• Speed in the assessment of new situations and developments, and in identifying opportunities and risks
• Efficiency in decision making and in action

Creativity

• Encouraging initiatives and new ideas
• Recognising contributions

 Commitment

• Commitment to the service of clients and collective accomplishment
• Exemplary behaviour

Ambition

• Aspiration for challenge and leadership
• Desire to obtain team success in a competition where the referee is the client

Our history

We began our life as a European bank. We became a dominant force in Europe and have continued growing to become a leading international bank with an increasingly global presence and strength in all major markets. Our history of steady, organic growth and a strong focus on risk management have given us strong foundations, diversified interests and a very bright future.

Our origins lie in a series of mergers between European banks, all of which had long histories – the earliest dating back to 1863. Our organisation today was created through the merger in May 2000 of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas (formerly Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas). Our bank is organised into three, independently successful business streams – Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB). CIB now accounts for approximately one-third of the Group's total income and this is forecast to rise in the coming years as CIB’s international franchise continues to grow.

For more information on BNP Paribas’s history, click here.