JPMorgan announces BNP Paribas ADR program
New York, November 4, 2002 - JPMorgan announced today that it has been appointed successor depositary for the BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) sponsored American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. BNP Paribas, one of the leading financial groups in continental Europe with consolidated assets of €730 billion ($729 billion) as of 30 June 2002, is also the largest public bank in France and in the Eurozone, and the second largest public bank in continental Europe with a market capitalization of approximately €35.3 billion ($34.9 billion).
Headquartered in Paris, with offices in 85 countries, the group conducts its operations in three core businesses: retail banking; private banking, asset management, insurance and securities services; and corporate and investment banking. For the first 6 months of 2002, the group's net income was €2billion ($1.97 billion).
In retail banking, BNP Paribas is the European leader in consumer finance, fund management and online brokerage. Worldwide, it has 19 million retail customers including 6 million customers in France and 1.5 million in the U.S. (through its 100%-owned subsidiary, BancWest Corporation). BNP Paribas is the 10th largest private bank in the world, and the largest equity custodian in Europe. The bank is also a global leader in derivatives, energy and commodities financing, structured and project finance, and a European leader in fixed-income and syndicated credits.
Each two (2) BNP Paribas ADRs (CUSIP 05565A202) represent one (1) ordinary share traded on Euronext Paris. Additional information on the company is available at www.bnpparibas.com.