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BNP Paribas strengthens its presence in India: Geojit, the Indian retail stock broker, becomes Geojit BNP Paribas

- Geojit Financial Services Ltd., one of the leading Indian broking firms, becomes Geojit BNP Paribas.
- The 500 Geojit offices in India will change their name and now bear the colours of BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas is the largest shareholder of Geojit Financial Services, one of the leading Indian retail stock brokers following the open offer that has been finalised in February 2009. Consequently, Geojit is now renamed as Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd.

“By partnering with BNP Paribas, Geojit will further extend the reach of its services to the growing population of non-resident Indians. We will benefit from the group's expertise in technology, customer relations, tools, etc. Geojit BNP Paribas will also take advantage of the expertise of BNP Paribas Personal Investors as a leading online broker in Europe, to rapidly develop its online trading business and the marketing of mutual funds and life insurance,” explains Mr. C J George, CEO of Geojit BNP Paribas. “This increase in equity stake by BNP Paribas will also help us to strengthen our branch network in India and to make investments in our Middle Eastern joint ventures.”

Olivier Le Grand, Head of BNP Paribas Personal Investors, adds: “India is a very important country for BNP Paribas. Beyond the crises, it will establish itself as an economic giant of the 21st century, and we are proud to be in a position to combine our name with Geojit, one of the most successful retail stock brokerage firms in India. Many synergies have already been implemented between our two companies. We are convinced that the association of these two names will accelerate the development of Geojit BNP Paribas.”

Established in 1987 and located in Kochi (Kerala State), Geojit BNP Paribas is a retail brokerage firm and a distributor of financial savings products. It is listed in India on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). With more than 450,000 clients, Geojit BNP Paribas offers a clientele of private investors', brokerage services for equities, derivatives as well as financial savings products (funds, life insurance, scheduled saving plans) through multiple channels: the Internet, telephone and a network of 500 offices spread across India, bearing BNP Paribas colours now. Geojit BNP Paribas also operates in the United Arab Emirates, through its joint venture Barjeel Geojit Securities, and in Saudi Arabia via Aloula Geojit Brokerage Company. A partnership agreement with Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait has also been signed.

BNP Paribas Personal Investors, a BNP Paribas business line, was created in 2007 during the initial equity acquisition of BNP Paribas in Geojit. This business line offers financial advice and investment services to a high net worth clientele across Europe and in emerging countries with a high potential through several distribution channels (online, telephone, face to face). Within the Investment Solutions division, BNP Paribas Personal Investors regroups Cortal Consors, the leading European broker in personal investing and online trading with a presence in five European countries, B*capital, a stock brokerage firm and Geojit BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas has been operating in India since 1860 in a number of businesses such as Investment Banking (CIB), Private banking (BNP Paribas Wealth Management), Life Insurance (SBI Life) and Asset Management (Sundaram BNP Paribas), Infrastructure Funding (Srei BNP Paribas), Retail Financing (Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance), Car Contract Hiring (Arval), Institutional Broking (BNP Paribas Securities India) and Securities Services (Sundaram BNP Paribas Securities Services and BNP Paribas Sundaram Global Securities Operations).
Based on Geojit BNP Paribas strong experience in capital markets, BNP Paribas Securities India Private Limited – the joint venture between BNP Paribas S.A. and Geojit Financial Services – was created exclusively for domestic and foreign institutional clients.

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About Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services
Geojit BNP Paribas (www.geojitbnpparibas.com) is one of the leading retail stock brokers in India, with a strong presence in the Gulf. Listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), it has more than 450,000 clients, a network of 500 offices and manages assets worth 700 million euros as at end of December 2008. BNP Paribas is its main shareholder.
Geojit BNP Paribas operates in Bahrain and in Oman. Barjeel Geojit Securities, its joint venture with the Al Saud group is headquartered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and owns branches in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and in Muscat. Aloula Geojit Brokerage Co., the joint venture with the Al Johar group in Saudi Arabia is headquartered in Riyadh. BNP Paribas Securities India Private Limited is the joint venture with BNP Paribas for institutional brokerage.

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 6 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's. The group is present in 85 countries, with more than 173,000 employees, including 132.700 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank's two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.