With 140 agencies and a market share of 12

The international development of the major French banks no longer has nothing of a profession of faith. Even though Société Générale strengthens its presence in Russia and the Crédit Agricole acquired a network of agencies in Italy, BNP Paribas speeds, for its part, its organic growth in the Mediterranean basin.

The street of Antin has just announced that it reviewed again increased its initial goal of opening of 200 points of sale in this region for the period 2005-2007. It had already identified a third party in the month of October 2005. It is now brought to more than 650 agencies end of 2007, which represents a tenfold increase in the network in three years...

Everywhere, the internal growth is preferred but acquisitions are obviously not excluded. "In view of the economic dynamism of the countries of the Mediterranean basin and the good performance of our location, our goal is to reach a critical size on the biggest markets in the region", explains Jean-Jacques Santini, responsible for retail banking in emerging markets at BNP Paribas.

The Turkey first in the

The French group is already present on the whole of the Mediterranean with the notable exception of the Greece in retail banking but no target is a priori on its radar and organic growth is not, at present, the order of the day in this country. It is the Turkey which is at the forefront of the attentions of BNP Paribas. The French Bank is indeed opened 60 agencies TEB per year.

"We hope to have here in 2008 a network of more than 300 agencies and include the 7 first banks in the country," said Jean-Jacques Santini. The network of TEB, BNP Paribas owns 50, will be 173 at the end of the year 2006 and 233 agencies end of 2007.

Very superior economic growth, 5 and a still low banking penetration rate (25) this is market is Eldorado for French BNP Paribas with a rate of 12,000 new accounts opened each month and production of credit increase of 30.

The banking group will soon add life to its range of products, its subsidiary Cardif having applied for a license two months ago.

North Africa is also part of the priority areas of the street of Antin. On this continent, the Bank remains on the lookout for acquisitions. This is the case in Egypt, where BNP Paribas is a candidate for the redemption of the Bank of Alexandria (see box). "We already have 34 agencies in this country and we opened 20,000 accounts nothing that in 2006, noted Jean-Jacques Santini.". We necessarily look with interest a bank that would allow us to immediately win 1.5 million customers and enter us a market of nearly $ 80 million by very strong growth.

Likewise, BNP Paribas is interested in the privatization of credit Populaire of Algeria (CPA), whose expressions of interest must be sent no later than 7 November.

The French Bank is a candidate, and Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, Santander, British HSBC, Citigroup American Spanish, and German, and Italian banks. With 24 agencies by the end of the year, BNP Paribas El Djazaïr realizes, four years after its creation, a net banking product (GNP) of an amount of EUR 30 million and a market share of 1.5 in a still 95 public sector. "With 140 agencies and a market share of 12.5, the credit Populaire of Algeria constitute for us a good basis for development", noted Jean-Jaques Santini.