The Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee today announced that BNP Paribas becomes an Official Partner of Paris 2024 following the signing of a formal contract.
“We’re delighted to welcome BNP Paribas, France’s number one bank, on board as an Official Partner to the Paris 2024 Bid Committee,” declared Committee Co-Chairman Bernard Lapasset, underlining: “The fact that we have obtained the support of a major banking player, which is both a leader in the euro zone and deeply rooted in the Paris region, serves to highlight just how attractive our project is. We’re looking forward to unveiling our vision for the Games on 17 February.”
His fellow Co-Chairman of the Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee, Tony Estanguet, added: “We share with BNP Paribas the determination to deliver on this fantastic promise to the Paris 2024 generation. Moreover, BNP Paribas has a profound understanding of major sports competitions.”
BNP Paribas is the number one employer in the administrative département of Seine-Saint-Denis to the north-east of Paris, where the Olympic and Paralympic Village is to be set up, and the third-largest employer in the Ile-de-France (Paris region). The Bank demonstrates in its day-to-day actions a strong sense of social engagement and civic responsibility, key values which closely reflect the ideals championed by the Paris 2024 Bid Committee.
Moreover, BNP Paribas is passionately committed to supporting talent of all kinds. Accordingly, the Group will be taking the opportunity afforded by this partnership with Paris 2024 to emphasise its contribution to the responsible development of talent among both Bank staff and customers and extending to all those working to ensure the success of the Olympic bid.
“BNP Paribas was created 17 years ago by a merger between the Banque nationale de Paris (BNP) and the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas (Paribas). France’s capital city has therefore always been central to our history. In addition, a passion for sport has been running through our veins for close to 50 years,” pointed out Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of the BNP Paribas Group, stressing: “It is therefore both entirely natural and exciting for us to become banking partner to the Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games. Supporting talent means both fostering initiative and promoting a culture of self-discipline. These two qualities – initiative and discipline – which are absolutely central to the Olympic Games, are also indispensable for our staff as they seek to provide our customers with an optimal service.”
About the Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee
The Bid Committee is jointly chaired by Bernard Lapasset, Chairman of World Rugby (the world governing body for the sport of rugby union) and Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and member of the International Olympic Committee. It is composed of representatives of the five founding entities – CNOSF, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee; CPSF, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee; the City of Paris; the Île-de-France region; and the French State. The Committee’s mission is to conduct the bid campaign for Paris to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024, running campaign activities towards this goal at both national and international level.
BNP Paribas has a presence in 75 countries with more than 185,000 employees, including 145,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its two core activities: Retail Banking & Services (comprised of Domestic Markets and International Financial Services) and Corporate & Institutional Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin 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 and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia-Pacific.