Since the 19th Century, BNP Paribas’ forerunner banks have operated in Africa, creating a strong banking history on the continent. At present, the bank has two main franchise locations in the North and South of Africa. In South Africa, the bank has both a CIB and consumer finance presence through a full commercial branch, which acts as a regional hub for operations in Southern Africa, and RCS Ltd.
In Morocco, the bank has a regional office hub, in addition to the BNP Paribas Regional Investment Company (BRIC), which acts as a central platform for wider Africa. BNP Paribas also owns a majority share in the retail bank, Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BMCI).
In the Middle East, BNP Paribas began to lay the foundations of a commercial network in the Gulf region in the late 1950s and set up a regional hub in Bahrain in 1975. During the following years, a large number of BNP Paribas Group businesses were also rolled out across the Gulf region in geographies such as the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, which remain strong platforms to this day.