This week marks the 2022 IFR Awards ceremony, applauding BNP Paribas’ performance across multiple businesses. According to Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas’ success at the 2022 IFR Awards “not only honours our performance in a demanding year and our ability to face exogenous crises, it is also a strong recognition of a model built step by step over many years, with a clear target: to lead the European banking sector.”
Collecting the Bank of the Year trophy on behalf of the BNP Paribas Group, Olivier Osty, Head of Global Markets, thanked IFR for “seeing the value of a strong European bank on the global stage, mobilising resources in support of clients and the European economy.”
Bank of the Year
The Bank of the Year award underlines BNP Paribas’ long-standing expertise, building on almost 200 years of banking history across the Group. In reference to the unrelenting focus of the Bank to deliver on its strategy, IFR editors noted, “It was built on years of hard work and good judgement”. This award not only recognises BNP Paribas’ dedication to clients, particularly throughout the pandemic and recent geopolitical events, it also salutes the strength of its integrated business model, consistent approach to sustainability and cross-team collaboration on ESG innovation.
“At BNP Paribas, we are committed to being a long-term partner to our clients and through all market cycles, supporting their development and transition to a more sustainable economy”, says Yann Gérardin, Global Head of CIB and COO of BNP Paribas. “We have built a bridge that connects the needs of our corporate clients with those of institutional clients, and sets up a comprehensive offering that leverages on the integrated and diversified business model of the entire BNP Paribas Group. Last but not least, we have developed market-leading expertise in sustainable finance.”
❝ At BNP Paribas, we are committed to being a long-term partner to our clients and through all market cycles, supporting their development and transition to a more sustainable economy. ❞
Bank for Sustainability
BNP Paribas was awarded Bank for Sustainability for its decade-long commitment to ESG finance and sustainable banking, which supports the transition to a low carbon economy. As of September 2022, BNP Paribas’ credit exposure to low-carbon energy production was already close to 20% higher than its credit exposure to fossil fuel production. IFR noted that BNP Paribas has a “coherent and consistent top-down approach to ESG that has taken a decade to refine, setting targets that exceed industry standards and a pioneering approach to biodiversity and social issues”.
Going beyond the net zero norms, the Bank is rapidly accelerating the implementation of tangible transition policies, supporting clients across all sectors and regions, and mobilising expertise across all business lines. The Bank is focused on delivering value for clients and on driving innovation in sustainable finance.
Asia-Pacific ESG Financing House of the Year
In Asia, IFR rewarded the Bank for its broad engagement with clients on their low-carbon transition journey, including supporting clients across all sectors in building credible transition pathways and accessing sustainable financing.
The Bank’s expertise goes beyond debt markets, structuring and facilitating a wide range of sustainable finance transactions. As noted by IFR Asia, in Equity Capital Markets, the Bank has been able to “bring IPOs from companies in the electric vehicle supply chain, as sustainability took on new importance to the region’s equity markets”, as a result of strong collaboration across the Bank’s sustainable capital markets, industry groups and product teams.
Working with regulators, ESG finance committees, industry groups and corporates, BNP Paribas continues to work towards increased integrity, transparency and credibility in Asia’s sustainable finance space. In 2022, the Bank contributed to the harmonisation of sustainable finance standards between China and Europe, with the issuance of the first evergreen bond under the updated Common Ground Taxonomy.
Ambitious growth in Equities
IFR named BNP Paribas Equity Derivatives House of the Year in recognition of its continued expansion of this business in a challenging year for the industry, establishing itself as a leader in European equities through investment and growth.
Recent years have seen BNP Paribas take bold moves to build on its expertise as a structured and flow derivatives house to deliver a full-service equities offering. The integration of a leading prime services business and the full acquisition of the cash equities house Exane successfully completed the Bank’s equities offer, leading to the launch of BNP Paribas’ Global Equities business in 2022.
The build out received positive feedback from clients on the derivatives side, making 2022 a record year for equity derivatives revenues with an expanding client franchise. With the completion of the integration of Exane, BNP Paribas will continue to grow its Equities business and provide top-of-class service to its clients.
The European leader in bonds
This past year, European issuances have dominated the bond markets due to elevated geopolitical tension and rising inflation, which resulted in market volatility and uncertain operating environments.
According to IFR, the Euro market is a crucial component of BNP Paribas’ business, “to say the euro market is part of BNP Paribas’ DNA would be something of an understatement. In 2022 it cast its net wider than ever in the public sector arena without missing a beat in its home currency”. IFR awarded BNP Paribas Euro Bond House of the Year and SSAR House of the Year in 2022.
Thanks to its deep-rooted presence in Europe in a market where SSA issuances dominated, BNP Paribas ranked second for European SSA deal volumes in 2022 according to Dealogic. The Bank also maintained strong positions in the USD and GBP markets. The Bank drew on its global reach and multi-local business model to support clients – from investment grade and high yield corporates to financial institutions and SSAs – in accessing capital despite the volatile market conditions in 2022.
A guiding light in the loan market
Embracing its historic role at the forefront of the EMEA loan market, BNP Paribas leveraged its capabilities to lead refinancing transactions and underwrite landmark complex deals, delivering the best terms for clients and pursuing its historical commitments to sustainability. Awarding BNP Paribas the EMEA Loan House of the Year, IFR noted that the Bank’s experience, knowledge and comprehensive approach stood out when supporting clients through uncertain times, noting that “as it did during the pandemic, BNP Paribas stepped up to the plate”. Outpacing its rivals, doubling its market share, BNP Paribas also won EMEA Structured Equity House of the Year.