“We must take decisive action to meet the financing needs of European companies by building on our leading positions in the eurozone.”
“Corporate financing is a key driver of Europe’s competitiveness. Today, companies’ needs are growing rapidly, driven by major digital, energy and climate transitions. Banks support corporate clients at every stage of their development and are at the forefront to offer financial backing, often through structured, long-term financing. This is particularly the case in Europe, where more than 70% of corporate financing still comes from bank loans, with less than 30% raised through capital markets.
HARNESSING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF CAPITAL MARKETS
However, banks alone will not be able to meet these needs. Bank lending must therefore be complemented by capital markets financing and by further developing equity and quasi-equity, to better channel Europe’s abundant savings into European companies.
In this context, the Savings and Investments Union is essential, subject to the acceleration of regulatory harmonisation, of the fluidity of capital flows and of the emergence of pan-European financing solutions.
By aligning corporate clients’ funding needs with the investment opportunities sought by institutional investors, banks act as a catalyst. This is particularly true of BNP Paribas, which leverages the strength of its corporate and institutional client franchises, as well as its leading positions across many of its investment banking business lines in the eurozone.
COMBINING STRENGTH, PROXIMITY AND LONGEVITY TO THE BENEFIT OF OUR CLIENTS
Launched 15 years ago, the One Bank for Corporates approach brings together all our Group’s expertise to serve our clients. Through this cross-entity initiative, we support them throughout their development, drawing on our diversified and integrated model as well as our international presence. One Bank for Corporates combines three distinctive assets: strength, drawn from our global reach and multi-sector expertise; proximity, rooted in our local footprint; and longevity, reflecting our long-term commitment to supporting our clients through every phase of the economic cycle.
This approach is one of BNP Paribas’ competitive advantages. For example, it has allowed us to support Astara, a leading international mobility company based in Spain and present in 18 countries across Latin America and Europe, in its expansion into Poland. We leverage our knowledge of the local ecosystem to offer financing solutions across the Astara group, its dealerships and its future individual clients. We are also by our clients’ side as they expand internationally. For example, we helped the French family-owned company Roquette, a worldwide leader in plant-based ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients, acquire New York-based IFF Pharma Solutions. Through our distinctive model, supported by the One Bank for Corporates approach, our clients benefit from the Group’s full range of expertise across all its geographical markets through a single point of contact.“