BNP Paribas Logo PNG
The BNP Paribas logo is like a bird soaring up and around the ground. The emblem suggests growing wealth, expanding business, and rising to the top. It encourages a broader view of the world and a drive to achieve more.
BNP Paribas traces its origins to 1848, when Comptoir National d’Escompte de Paris was created to support credit during a financial crisis in France. In 1872, Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas, later known as Paribas, emerged from a Franco-Dutch merger backed by the Bischoffsheim and Hench families. The bank financed large industrial projects, including the Beijing-Hankou railway in 1899.
In 1966, Michel Debré merged CNEP with BNCI to form Banque Nationale de Paris. By 1967, BNP co-launched Carte Bleue, France’s first payment card. Expansion continued in 1979 with the acquisition of Bank of the West. BNP was nationalized in 1982 and privatized in 1993 under Michel Pébereau, followed by network modernization and the launch of online banking in 1997.
In 1999, BNP entered a takeover battle with Société Générale and secured a deal to acquire Paribas. The merged BNP Paribas group was registered on May 23, 2000, becoming one of Europe’s largest banks. In 2006, it acquired Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, a bank that financed companies such as Fiat, Pirelli, and Agip.
On August 9, 2007, BNP Paribas froze funds exposed to the US mortgage market, marking an early signal of the global financial crisis. During 2008, it acquired major Fortis assets in Belgium and Luxembourg, strengthening its European position.
In 2013, the group launched Hello Bank!, followed by Nickel in 2017. In 2014, BNP Paribas paid $8.9 billion over sanctions violations involving Sudan, Iran, and Cuba. In December 2021, it sold Bank of the West to Bank of Montreal for $16.3 billion, exiting US retail banking.
Meaning and History
The BNP Paribas group emerged in 2000, but it is difficult to call it young, as it included two banks with 150-year histories. Both resulted from mergers of other structures with different goals. The final merger of BNP and Paribas strengthened their presence in the international market. Moreover, the leaders retained the names of both financial institutions, showing respect for their traditions.
But the original corporate identity could not be preserved: the new group needed something revolutionary to distinguish it from competitors. Therefore, the famous BNP emblem with the letter “B” surrounded by green dots is a thing of the past. The modern project adopted a similarly modern logo. Despite a little experimentation with the design, the original concept has not changed.
What is BNP Paribas?
BNP Paribas is a French financial conglomerate named after its predecessors: Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas. They merged in 2000, forming one of the world’s largest banking groups. Today, it is a systemically important financial institution with clients from more than 70 countries.
2000 – 2007
In 2000, a financial conglomerate emerged that would become one of the “big four” French banks. At the same time, customers saw its first-word mark with a black inscription: “BNP PARIBAS.” The letters sat lower than they do now, which made them look slightly flattened. The simple, bold sans-serif type looked solid and fit a financial conglomerate well.
On the left, the artists depicted five green stars. They rose, skirting the word “BNP,” and turned into flying birds. This element later became the group’s main distinctive symbol.
2007 – 2009
The redesign brought some minor changes to the composition. The logo designers tweaked the lettering’s proportions so the letters no longer seemed unnaturally elongated. A green square limited the stars’ free flight, and they turned white. As a result, the graphic sign shifted to the left and was perceived separately from the text.
2009 – today
In 2009, designers redesigned the image to make it three-dimensional. Volume comes from a light linear gradient at the top of the square and dark boxes around the edges. The 3D effect was the only change to the BNP Paribas logo design, as the lettering remained intact.
The stars move upward in a dynamic trajectory and become abstract birds. The five-pointed geometric shapes lined up in a circle symbolize the European Union flag. The stars also serve as guides, as their positions in the sky help travelers find the right path. The birds they transform into indicate BNP Paribas employees’ willingness to accompany clients in any endeavor.
Font and Colors
The font used for the financial conglomerate’s name is a grotesque. This is Genua Sans Bold, created in 2017 by Sergej Lebedev. It features smooth bends, uneven line thickness, and gaps at the junctions of some strokes.
The square’s green color implies a responsible attitude to the environment, symbolizes hope, and attracts money. The gradient presents it in several shades at once: Bangladesh Green (#007348), Spanish Viridian (#008755), Medium Sea Green (#39A87B), Green Sheen (#6ABB97), and Eton Blue (#8BC8AA). The inscription, in turn, is completely black.