Best private bank in France
Best private bank for entrepreneurs

As BNP Paribas reshapes its private banking offering, the talk from the top and right through the ranks to the relationship managers is about “building a sustainable future with clients”. In recent years, this underlying philosophy is becoming almost as important as boosting profits. The two goals should no longer be regarded as contradictory, believes Vincent Lecomte, CEO of BNP Paribas Wealth Management, responsible for client assets of $462bn. “Combining sustainable finance and performance is perfectly possible,” he says, waxing lyrical about how his bank can contribute towards a more sustainable economy “by financing and advising clients in an ethical and responsible manner.”

Although the wealth management arm appears to have finally moved away from acting as a distribution channel for investment banking and asset management products, there remains a pan-group strategy to leverage resources and expertise, providing clients – be they individuals, businesses or institutions – with high performance and innovative financial products. This notion of accompanying entrepreneurs on their long-term journey is a vital focus for the bank as it sees them as the main drivers of economic recovery in its core geographies of Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), Asia, the Middle East and the US. BNP Paribas has assigned 170 relationship managers for its “systematic and industrialised ‘one bank’ approach” to this segment. The advisers are expected to bring corporate and investment banking, real estate and asset management services to entrepreneurs. “This approach allows us to serve these clients globally, over the long term at every stage of the development of their business and wealth and to meet their professional needs as well as their private and family needs,” says Mr Lecomte. In order to be able to fulfil this demanding role, advisers are enrolled on a global training programme at the bank’s Wealth Management University, which helps develop skills in sectors including wealth planning, credit, sustainable investments and digital communication. YB