- A direct support plan, activated in over 30 countries.
- Local support for hospitals, vulnerable populations and young people.
- An additional commitment bringing the Group’s contribution to over €50m.
BNP Paribas and its subsidiaries around the world have mobilised from the outset of the crisis to have a direct impact on the hospital system, medical research and institutions that help the most vulnerable amongst us and disadvantaged young people. Actions in aid of communities are the priority of our emergency support plan, especially when deployed in the field, in support of medical professionals, NGOs and social services support associations that fight every day to seek solutions to this healthcare and social crisis.
BNP Paribas' teams, with a strong local presence, have already provided support on a number of fronts, including through grants to numerous local NGOs in Europe, Asia and Africa, various bank and insurance solidarity funds, and research via the Pasteur Institute in France. The various actions have so far amounted to €25m, in addition to many other kinds of contributions, including the donation of 3 million masks to hospitals across Europe.
To strengthen its support in the face of the health crisis, BNP Paribas is now launching a new emergency support plan that brings the Group's financial commitment to over €50m. The plan is implemented via actions identified by BNP Paribas' teams across the various regions the Group is present in, and adapted to specific local needs. It aims to help hospitals and vulnerable populations across 30 countries. These actions are supplemented throughout the world by volunteering engagements by BNP Paribas employees who, in their working hours, make themselves available to support associations mobilised to face the crisis.
The additional €25m amount is structured as follows:
- A hospital support plan, with a focus on particularly affected countries where the Group has a strong presence (France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal) but also in the rest of Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa. Support is provided locally in line with the needs expressed by the healthcare community in each country: Actions in France and Belgium jointly with the governing bodies of university hospitals, funding for research and emergencies at Italian hospitals and a field hospital in the Queens neighborhood of New York, or acquisition of screening tests for hospital staff in Poland.
- Actions in favour of vulnerable populations highly affected by the crisis: Support given to NGOs in several countries, who are providing food aid to the poor, refugees, isolated elderly persons, and women and children who are victims of violence. Specific action will be taken in regions where BNP Paribas operates. In France, the Seine Saint Denis municipality, a highly affected area in which BNP Paribas is the largest private employer, will be subject to a specific plan to support local hospitals, as well as plans to support the local healthcare and social structure in conjunction with the local authority. A specific programme is also implemented to support social and solidarity businesses and microfinance institutions whose clients are in difficulty in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.
- For youth, assistance to pupils facing the digital divide (provision of computers and digital keys and digital inclusion programmes) through partner associations in several countries.
As part of this support plan, BNP Paribas also calls on its employees to mobilise by activating its emergency and development fund worldwide as of 10 April. This will help to support a global programme of humanitarian NGOs mobilised to face the crisis: support for healthcare personnel, food safety in areas most affected, water supply and hygiene awareness. Each employee contribution will be matched by BNP Paribas.
‘In the face of the health crisis, the response can only be collective. This is the direction of the measures we have put in place to support our corporate and private clients. We must also all stand alongside those who care for us and pay particular attention to all those who are facing great difficulty in the current situation. This is the thrust of the emergency support plan that we are implementing throughout the world for the benefit of the most vulnerable hospitals and populations, based on the fact that, in all the countries where BNP Paribas operates, our employees are themselves committed players in civil society.‘ said Jean Laurent Bonnafé, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the BNP Paribas Group.
As operators in an essential activity for the functioning of countries' economies, BNP Paribas and its various activities throughout the world have remained fully mobilised to deal with the health crisis since the outbreak began. A specific organisation has been set up in each country to give priority to teleworking and ensure the best hygienic conditions for employees whose activity cannot be carried out remotely.
The Group's support for the countries affected by the healthcare crisis is primarily expressed in ensuring business continuity throughout the world in order to ensure the continuity of financial flows and payments, to support corporate and private clients to overcome this difficult period, and also to put in place all the measures mandated by States to support the economy.
In addition to the essential support given to the economy by on-the-ground action of its employees is the Group's impact as an employer and taxpayer (€5.9bn in taxes and duties paid for 2019).
BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with an international reach. It has a presence in 71 countries, with approximately 199,000 employees, of which more than 151,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main activities: Domestic Markets and International Financial Services (whose retail-banking networks and financial services are covered by Retail Banking & Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking, which serves two client franchises: corporate clients and institutional investors. The Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance.
In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the European leader in consumer lending.
BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail-banking model in Mediterranean countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Institutional Banking and International Financial Services activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific.
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