Interview with Enna Pariset in AGEFI – April 9, 2025

BNP Paribas “hopes to support the next Swiss unicorn”

AGEFI
09.04.2025

BNP Paribas “hopes to support the next Swiss unicorn”

Enna Pariset, head of the French group’s operations in Switzerland, intends to fill part of the gap left by Credit Suisse’s disappearance.

After a restructuring marked by the end of commodity trade financing, BNP Paribas (Switzerland) is back on a growth track. In an exclusive interview with L’Agefi, Enna Pariset, who heads all of the French group’s activities in Switzerland, says she is betting on local businesses, start-ups, and wealthy residents. “I truly hope to support the next Swiss unicorn,” she says. The investment banking team is currently preparing two new listings on SIX and intends to “support” companies that UBS cannot or does not want to take over. The growth plan launched in 2021 for this segment is nearing completion, with a cumulative revenue of 1 billion euros and a target of 1.5 billion by 2030. In 2024, assets under management rose from 20 to 25 billion Swiss francs, including 10 billion deposited by Swiss residents. The Geneva-based bank employs about 1,200 people across the country and has resumed hiring. PAGES 2-3

“Our priorities: clients from Switzerland, Italy, Germany and the Middle East”

The Territory Head for Switzerland and CEO of BNP Paribas (Switzerland), Enna Pariset, outlines the group’s activities and explains her growth plan.

By Christian Affolter and Frédéric Lelièvre

The past few years at the Swiss subsidiary of French group BNP Paribas were marked by restructuring, particularly after the shutdown of the historically significant commodity trade financing business. Now, its head in Switzerland, Enna Pariset, aims for a rebound. She oversees all of the group’s activities on this side of the border (see box below) and is leaning on corporate clients seeking alternatives following UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse. BNP Paribas’s capital markets activity in Switzerland reflects this strategy. In wealth management too, the institution, which last year moved from Geneva’s banking district to the Lancy Pont-Rouge towers, is once again on a growth path following a portfolio clean-up phase, according to the executive who manages around 1,200 employees.

“Today, out of the 25 billion francs in assets, around 10 billion comes from Swiss clients.”

Enna Pariset, CEO BNP Paribas (Suisse)

▪ At the end of 2023, BNP Paribas (Switzerland) had CHF 20 billion in assets under management, stable compared to 2022. What happened last year?

We ended 2024 with CHF 25 billion. That was expected with the change in our Head of Wealth Management (WM). On August 1, 2022, Beat Bachmann, formerly with UBS and based in Zurich, joined us with a mission to develop the Swiss-resident client base.

A few years ago, I restructured the CIB (Corporate & Institutional Banking) unit in Switzerland to focus entirely on Swiss companies. Now, wealth management must align with this shift. Previously, wealth management benefitted from synergies with commodity trade financing, which we ended and closed by mid-2022. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine led us to reduce our risk exposure to Russian clients. We also exited Latin American markets, as our assets there didn’t cover our costs.

We hit a low point at CHF 20 billion in assets. I chose to sacrifice a few billion to redeploy our resources where we could make a difference. We set three priorities: Swiss residents, then German and Italian clients, and finally the Middle East—especially Dubai, which is still accounted for in Switzerland. Today, of the CHF 25 billion in assets, about CHF 10 billion comes from Swiss clients. So I’m pleased.

▪ However, in 2023 and the first half of 2024 (–CHF 17.1 million), you were still in the red and announced a restructuring…

Those figures—more details will be published at the end of April—don’t reflect our actual activity. Losses were mainly tied to restructuring plans in Geneva. We also booked a one-off provision of CHF 16.3 million to cover reorganization costs aimed at improving our operational efficiency in Switzerland. These steps were necessary, especially after halting the commodity financing business.

Of course, I want to reach breakeven, but we can’t do everything at once. In investment banking and asset management, unlike wealth management, very little revenue is booked in Switzerland—it’s accounted for at group level. What really matters are client revenues. Since launching our 2025 growth plan for CIB Switzerland in May 2021, we’ve grown significantly.

We work with Swiss companies with revenues of at least CHF 200 million, as well as Swiss banks—UBS, ZKB, BCGE, BCV, and others—and insurers. We also serve subsidiaries and branches of Swiss and foreign companies, banks, and insurers—in other words, multinational corporations (MNCs). We’ve reached €1 billion in cumulative revenue from Swiss clients—corporates, financial institutions, wealth management—and we aim for €1.5 billion by 2030.

▪ What’s the minimum amount for your wealth management services?

Starting from CHF 5 million, if there is a clearly defined potential. This is mostly the threshold for entrepreneurs who are also CIB clients.

In summer 2021, I created a dedicated team to support tech and healthcare start-ups. We work extensively with start-ups from the ETH and EPFL. It’s a pity that companies born there often end up in the U.S.! As bankers, it’s our role to support them from the outset. We’ve started granting loans of CHF 2 to 3 million to start-ups and support their equity fundraising by attracting a varied, complementary, and stable investor base, with the goal of listing them on SIX. I really hope to support the next Swiss unicorn!

▪ Companies complain about worsening credit access since Credit Suisse’s collapse. Is this an opportunity for you?

I launched the CIB growth plan in 2021, and it will be completed this year. When Credit Suisse’s troubles became apparent in 2023, we had already planned our investments and strategic goals.

“We are working on two IPOs expected in the second half of the year.”

 Enna Pariset

The shift came in waves. Multinationals and foreign subsidiaries reacted immediately—they realized they needed to reorganize their cash management. During summer 2023, we were inundated with requests. Swiss companies mostly continued as if nothing had happened—until the merger was finalized in August 2024. It was clear UBS wouldn’t take over everything. With a balance sheet of €2.7 trillion, BNP Paribas can help.

Last year, we added about 20 new Swiss corporate clients and 40 new MNCs, covering everything except real estate, which we rarely touch in CIB. That may change with the acquisition of AXA IM, currently underway and expected to close in summer 2025. AXA IM Switzerland manages about €53.5 billion in assets (as of end-2023) and includes a real estate fund of around CHF 20 billion, bringing us added expertise in that sector.

January 2004	Joined BNP Paribas in London
April 2018	Head of Corporate and Commodities Coverage in Switzerland
October 2019	Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking in Switzerland
January 2022	Head of Territory for BNP Paribas in Switzerland
July 2023	CEO of BNP Paribas (Switzerland)
April 2018	Member of the Swiss Bankers Association committee

▪ You also emphasize your capital markets financing activity. Would that have been possible before the UBS–Credit Suisse merger?

In 2023, we were already the third-largest player in Swiss franc bond issuance (excluding real estate), after UBS and ZKB. Since then, our market share has grown. According to Bloomberg league tables I review every Friday, our share rose from 10.9% in 2023 to 15.3%. For international corporate bond issues, we’ve been just behind UBS for two years. We went from 36 deals in 2023 to 52 last year—and we’ve already reached our 24th this year. Notably, we participated in two of the four IPOs on the Swiss market in 2024: Galderma’s CHF 2.3 billion IPO (as Joint Bookrunner) and the CHF 7.7 billion Sunrise spin-off (as Joint Capital Market Advisor).

▪ Will you be involved in the next IPOs on SIX?

We’re currently working on two IPOs expected in the second half of the year. In my experience, IPO preparation can take up to five years and is often tied to market conditions.

▪ How important would access to the European market be for your business?

It wouldn’t matter much for our investment banking services, as we don’t distribute our products cross-border. We are in Switzerland and we work for Switzerland. In wealth management, BNP Paribas has entities in many other countries. France or Luxembourg are the main distributors in Europe, although we do support our clients while respecting the relevant regulations.

“We don’t see any particular disadvantage, especially since Swiss and European regulations are largely aligned.”

Enna Pariset

▪ Switzerland is the only country already applying the final version of Basel III. Isn’t Bern neglecting the competitiveness of the financial center?

The final version of Basel III is now in force both in Switzerland and in Europe since January 1, 2025. Europe postponed only the market risk component. Competitiveness is a complex issue that depends on each bank’s business model and risk profile.

▪ Are you at a disadvantage compared to banks regulated by the European Central Bank (ECB)?

As a foreign bank, we are supervised by two regulators: the ECB and the Swiss authority FINMA, which takes precedence. So we don’t see any particular disadvantage—especially since Swiss and European regulations are largely aligned. In fact, with instant payments, the reverse is true. They’ve been standard in France for a while. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) asked the 50 largest banks in Switzerland to implement them by last year, and we complied ahead of the August 30, 2024 deadline. Life comes with constraints, and we adapt.

100 New Employees in 2024

As “Territory Head,” in BNP Paribas jargon, Enna Pariset oversees all of the French banking giant’s operations in Switzerland and is one of the top 100 senior leaders in the group.

BNP Paribas (Switzerland) comprises three core units: Wealth Management, Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB – mid to large Swiss companies, multinationals, financial institutions), and Asset Management.

The group’s presence in Switzerland also includes Arval, the country’s leading car leasing company (24,000 vehicles), and Leasing Solutions, for equipment leasing to businesses.

1,245 Employees in Switzerland

CIB services include Global Banking (treasury and risk management, syndicated loans), Securities Services (custody of securities listed on SIX, for example), and Global Markets (investment and financing solutions). BNP Paribas employs 1,245 people in Switzerland, including 790 in French-speaking Switzerland—760 in Geneva alone—440 in the German-speaking part, and 15 in Lugano. Last year, the workforce grew by about 100 employees. The finalization of the AXA IM acquisition will add 104 employees in Zurich. — CA