BNP Paribas

Is BNP Paribas safe?

Yes. BNP Paribas, the largest bank in the euro area by assets, is a conservative choice for deposits. Its CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 13.0% at 30 June 2026, well above its 10.43% requirement, and its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary stood at 149%. French customers have two layers of state-backed protection. We score it 77/100, level with Santander and below Crédit Agricole at 80. The deductions are for a 2009 state capital injection and a conduct record shaped by US sanctions violations.

Protection for French savers

France's Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution (FGDR) covers current accounts, ordinary savings books and term deposits up to €100,000 per customer per bank, and must pay within seven working days. On top of that, Livret A, LDDS and LEP balances have their own €100,000 state guarantee per customer per bank. So a saver with €90,000 in a current account and €22,950 in a Livret A, its maximum, is fully covered.

Hello bank! is part of BNP Paribas SA and shares the same limits. BNP's other European retail banks are separate legal entities under their own national schemes: BNP Paribas Fortis in Belgium, BNL in Italy and BGL BNP Paribas in Luxembourg, each with €100,000 cover.

Capital, ratings and liquidity

Measure	30 June 2026
CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary	13.0%
SREP CET1 requirement	10.43%
Leverage ratioLeverage ratioA bank's Tier 1 capital divided by its total exposures, without adjusting for risk. It is a simple backstop to risk-based capital rules.More in the glossary	4.4%
Liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary	149%
Liquidity reserve	€521 billion
Customer deposits	€1,161 billion

BNP reached its 13% CET1 target for 2027 eighteen months early while paying out 60% of earnings. Its senior debt is rated A1 by Moody's, A+ by S&P and AA- by Fitch, all with stable outlooks. A bank rarely gets rated far above its home country, and France's downgrades by rating agencies in 2025 put a lid on BNP's ratings even though its own numbers improved.

Through 2008 with a little help

BNP Paribas stayed profitable in both 2008 and 2009 as full years. Like other large French banks, it took capital from the state's support vehicle in 2009, €5.1 billion in total, and paid it back by October 2009. During the crisis it bought the Belgian and Luxembourg banks of Fortis after the Belgian state had rescued them, which is how BNP Paribas Fortis came about. In the euro crisis of 2011 and 2012 it cut its Greek and Italian government bond holdings and faced a squeeze on US dollar funding, but never needed further help.

Sanctions history and fines

BNP's biggest scandal predates our ten-year window: in 2014 it pleaded guilty in the US to processing transactions for Sudan, Iran and Cuba in breach of US sanctions and paid about $8.9 billion. Its consequences have continued:

• July 2017: the Federal Reserve fined BNP Paribas $246 million for unsafe practices in its foreign-exchange trading business.
• January 2018: its US subsidiary pleaded guilty to a foreign-exchange conspiracy and agreed to pay $90 million to the US Justice Department.
• October 2025: a New York jury found BNP liable to three Sudanese-born refugees over the role of its banking services in supporting the Bashir government and awarded $20.75 million. BNP Paribas rejects the verdict and has appealed. The share price fell sharply on the news because of the risk of further claims.

These cases sit in the corporate and investment bank. None threatened retail deposits.

Practical tips for BNP Paribas customers

1. Add up everything at BNP Paribas SA and Hello bank!. Keep ordinary deposits within €100,000 and regulated savings within their own €100,000.
2. Remember that assurance vie and securities are not deposits. Securities are held in your name; life insurance falls under the separate FGAP insurance fund.
3. Use the Clé Digitale in the app to approve payments, and never approve a payment because someone calling as a BNP "fraud adviser" asks you to. Fake adviser fraud is one of the most common bank scams in France.
4. If you bank with BNP Paribas Fortis or BNL, check that country's scheme, not the French one.

How we scored it

Deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (88) and liquidity (86) are the strongest factors, and capital (80) is solid. Conduct (55) is the weakest, followed by stability history (72) for the 2009 state capital. For comparison with other eurozone giants, see Santander and Deutsche Bank.