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BNP Paribas seals Exelbank purchase

Madrid/Paris/London - BNP Paribas announces today that, following approval from the relevant regulatory authorities, it has signed the agreement for its wholly-owned subsidiary, BNP Paribas Securities Services to purchase Exelbank, the specialist custody and depository banking firm formerly owned by Banco Sabadell. The acquisition was first announced on 21 March 2007.

Exelbank provides custody and settlement related services to Spanish and international financial institutions, depositary bank services to mutual and pension funds and outsourcing services related to investment operations and private banking. The subsidiary, with its origin in Banco Urquijo, is more than 40 years old, and is widely recognised in the Spanish custody market. Currently, it has some EUR 18 billion in assets under custody and serves more than 150 funds, managed by approximately 25 investment managers.

Exelbank will be absorbed into BNP Paribas Securities Services; the integration programme begins as of now and both entities have already started to form specialist working groups with the objective of completing successful integration before the end of 2007. The operation has been well received by clients of both entities.

The acquisition means that BNP Paribas Securities Services consolidates its leadership position in the Spanish market, where it already has a broad base of domestic and international clients. BNP Paribas is thus significantly expanding its clientele and demonstrating its commitment to grow depositary and administration services to fund managers in Spain.



NOTES TO EDITORS

BNP Paribas Securities Services
BNP Paribas Securities Services is a leading securities services provider to the world's financial institutions, with a local presence in all key European markets as well as in the US and Australasia. With 4,550 dedicated staff in 18 countries, BNP Paribas Securities Services has 900 clients, including 8 of the world's top 10 investment managers, and a global custody network covering 91 markets. It holds EUR 3.66 trillion of assets under custody (March 2007) and EUR 747 billion of assets under administration for 5,753 funds worldwide. BNP Paribas Securities Services also provides investment reporting, performance attribution and risk measurement services for 2,500 portfolios. In 2006, BNP Paribas Securities Services processed over 32 million transactions.

BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in banking and financial services, and ranks among the world's top 15 banks by market capitalization. It has approximately 150,000 employees, 120,000 of whom are based in Europe. The group occupies leading positions in three significant fields of activity: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. It is present in 85 countries and has a strong presence in all the key financial centres. Active throughout Europe in all its business lines, France and Italy are its two domestic markets in retail banking. BNP Paribas enjoys a significant and growing presence in the United States and leading positions in Asia and in emerging markets.

In Spain, BNP Paribas is one of the leading international banking groups, with leadership positions in all the business segments in which we are active with 17 different legal entities. More than 3,300 employees serve approximately 4 million individuals and 1,000 corporate and institutional clients through 140 branches around Spain.