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BNP Paribas regroups its specialised finance business activities into a single business line called « Equipment Solutions »

BNP Paribas Lease Group, Arval, Arius and Artegy, whose market positions and know-how are mutually enriching, will consolidate their activities in a new Business Line 'Equipment Solutions,' which has been created within the Group's Core Business IRFS.

By placing these companies under a single management, their respective identities as well as their operational autonomy will be maintained; ‘Equipment Solutions' will develop an offer of widened and enriched value-added services for each company's customers, by combining and capitalising on their respective capacities and assets, as well as by adopting best practices. It will endeavour to investigate systematically the opportunities that exist for mutual development, from sharing resources to coordinating commercial approaches.

Laurent Tréca will head up Equipment Solutions; he will be appointed Chairman of BNP Paribas Lease Group, and remains Chairman and CEO of Arval, as well as Chairman of Arius and Artegy.

Philippe Bismut, currently Arval's Deputy Managing Director, will be appointed Director & General Manager of BNP Paribas Lease Group on October 1st 2006, following the departure of Frédéric Lavenir.

Philippe Noubel remains Deputy Managing Director and Administrator of Arval.

Thierry Lachaux, currently Head of Development at Group Development & Finance, will take over as Deputy Managing Director of Arval from Philippe Bismut on October 1st 2006.

BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG), a BNP Paribas subsidiary, specializes in financing the assets and property investments for businesses and professionals in Europe. As the French and European leader in financial and operating leasing for over 50 years, BPLG provides manufacturers, importers or equipment suppliers with a whole range of financing solutions to support their sales, building on local, national or international partnerships which can vary from simple recommendation agreements up to setting up joint ventures.
BPLG also offers the BNP Paribas banking network the financing and management of capital goods and real estate leases as provided by the bank to its clients.
BNP Paribas Lease Group has over 2,300 employees in 11 European countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Arval is one of the European leaders in long-term leasing in managing multibrand corporate vehicles. Arval aims to design and implement long-term leasing of vehicle solutions to the benefit of small and medium-sized companies as well as large groups, Arval has over 3,600 employees in 19 countries, is present on the five continents through its subsidiaries and partners, and manages a fleet of over 600,000 vehicles.

Arius is specialized in the financing and up-to-date management of computer equipment. It helps businesses implement and meet all their IT requirements (hardware, software, services), and offers them financing and technical solutions adapted to their strategy, their needs and their environments. Backed with its 15-year expertise, Arius now has over 6,000 clients in France and manages over 800,000 assets.

Artegy (unavailable link) is specialised in long-term leasing with services of industrial vehicles. Artegy proposes a large range of services thanks to its innovative organisation and know-how (vehicles adapted to clients' needs, maintenance, fleet optimisation, and budget control). It operates in France and the UK, and in various professional sectors and activities where specific vehicles are needed.