BNP Paribas is one of the world's largest global banking groups, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. It was formed through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas in 2000. In 2012, BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the third largest bank in the world, as measured by total assets.

BNP Paribas escaped the 2007–09 credit crisis relatively unscathed reporting a €3 billion net profit for the year of 2008, and €5.8 billion for 2009, both years boosted by profits from trading in its CIB (Corporate and Investment Banking) division.[6] BNP Paribas has one of the highest credit ratings in its peer group with the long term debt of the group currently ranked A+ by S&P, A2 by Moody's and A+ by Fitch.

The firm is a universal bank split into three strategic business units: Retail Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions (which includes Asset Management, custodial banking, and real estate services).

BNP Paribas's four domestic markets are France, Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It also has significant retail operations in the United States, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, and North Africa, as well as large-scale investment banking operations in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

In 2013 BNP Paribas was awarded the Bank of the Year award by The International Financing Review ("IFR"), Thomson Reuters' leading financial industry publication. The IFR awards are a key industry benchmark and Bank of the Year is the top honour awarded. [Source: Wikipedia]