Bond House and Europe Investment-Grade Corporate Bond House: BNP Paribas
Par excellence It might not be the biggest bond house globally, but the French bank’s ability to deliver excellence is second to none. Its core business will always be euros, where it retains its leading market share. But it is expanding its reach in the Swiss franc and sterling markets, and taking steps to grow its US dollar business. BNP Paribas is IFR’s Bond House and Europe Investment-Grade Corporate Bond House of the Year.
In one sense it was business as usual in 2024 for BNP Paribas. It retained its leading position in the euro bond market, it continued to dominate the European investment-grade corporate market and was a contender for an award in every core business that it has traditionally been involved in.
The bank has also made strides in other areas, most notably Swiss francs, which is now part of its core, as well as sterling, where the bank may lag the big UK houses, but was top five in corporates. Its US business is also making progress, though the bank’s senior executives acknowledge it will take time to reach the heights they are targeting.
There’s no sense of concern, though, that those targets won’t be achieved, for the bank’s strategy towards the US is the same as it is elsewhere. And given the remarkable success that strategy has delivered in Europe, there’s no reason to think it won’t be the same in the US.
“We’ve not reinvented the wheel,” said Frederic Zorzi, global head of primary markets. “It’s client, client, client. It’s been like that for 20 years.”
It’s a simple strategy and one that every bond house claims. But not all deliver on it, whether because of decisions from higher-ups that lead to value-destroying cost cutting or internal politics that undermine a shared approach.
At BNPP the emphasis is on teamwork, which ensures its bankers can focus on what’s important. “It’s about making sure we demonstrate our level of commitment and service. If we do the basics right, we’ll do the business,” said Rupert Lewis, head of European syndicate.
Outshining the competition
Nothing demonstrates this better than the bank’s European investment-grade corporate business. It’s hard to imagine that BNPP could outperform its competitors in a market in which it already dominates. But that is exactly what it did in 2024.
It had a 9.58% share of the euro investment-grade corporate market in 2024, according to LSEG data, 385bp higher than its nearest competitor. To put that in context, the gap between the second-ranked bank and the 19th one was smaller, at 377bp.
Not only is BNPP running a different race to its competitors but last year it was able to raise its game compared to itself, upping its market share by nearly 150bp from 2023 when it was 8.19%.
“We had a fantastic year,” said Giulio Baratta, head of investment-grade finance DCM for EMEA. “The stats speak for themselves.”
While critics will gripe that the bank’s success is down to its lending business, issuers are too sophisticated to be won over by just cheque-book financing. “Yes, we have a big balance sheet, but not as big as some others,” said Lewis. “We outperform the competition.”
Baratta puts that success down to BNPP’s determined approach. “We are ready to serve our clients from the very first day to the last one,” he said.
The bank took pole position on some of the largest deals of the year. It was sole global coordinator on Siemens’ €5bn four-part deal in February, which reopened supply in the 20-year bracket. The bank also took leading roles on the year’s other jumbo deals, Novo Nordisk’s €4.65bn multi-tranche offering and DSV’s €5bn four-parter.
But for BNPP, being at the top is not just about running the biggest deals.
“Leadership for us is not just the refinancing or deal of the year candidates,” said Jodie Snow, a fixed-income syndicate banker. “Leadership means being a pillar of support and strength in more challenging circumstances.”
And in 2024, there were plenty of sectors and companies facing difficult times.
Standout examples include when Electricite de France tapped the market in June for a €3bn triple-tranche green bond after president Emmanuel Macron’s shock decision to call a snap election only two days earlier.
Thibault Hescot, managing director in the bond syndicate, was keen to emphasise the bank’s role. “We had to show strong conviction in markets that were very tricky.”
Other standout BNPP deals include Nordic real estate firm Heimstaden Bostad’s blowout hybrid and senior returns to the market, which saw huge demand for what is still a challenged credit, holding ratings of BBB– with negative outlook from S&P and Fitch.
The hybrid, in particular, was a testing trade, with market participants wondering how Heimstaden would tackle an upcoming call on an outstanding hybrid. Most expected the company would follow other real estate issuers, such as Aroundtown and Citycon, and do an exchange. Instead, it did a tender, enabling the issuer to achieve tighter pricing for the new issue.
“The market was expecting an exchange,” said Snow. “Ultimately we had conviction on the new issue pricing that was meaningfully tighter” than what an exchange could achieve.
One area that BNPP has pushed forward in is the debut space. “An issuer’s debut transaction requires a huge amount of hand holding,” said Snow. The bank acted on 37 out of 47 debut transactions in euros.
One such debut issuer was French ingredients maker Roquette Freres, which brought a complicated dual-tranche hybrid and senior offering. BNPP was one of three global coordinators on the transaction, which is linked to the family-owned firm’s acquisition of International Flavors & Fragrance's pharma division.
“We had been talking to [Roquette] for many years in the context of a debut trade and it came with the acquisition,” said Baratta.
Despite the many challenges – it was a private company, with just one rating (BBB negative from S&P, having been A– before the acquisition) simultaneously selling two different types of debt – the deal proved to be a big success. The company issued a €600m seven-year senior unsecured note and a €600m perpetual hybrid with a first call in November 2029.
The bank also led a number of deals for UK water companies, arguably the most challenged sector for primary issuance.
Spotting trends
While BNPP’s European investment-grade corporate business stood out, it wasn’t the only strongly performing unit. The bank has also won IFR's EMEA Leveraged Finance House award. Its SSAR, FIG and Emerging EMEA teams all made huge contributions in helping the bank sit at the top of the euro league table.
In SSAR, for example, the bank increased its year-on-year market share in euros, as well as US dollars. “We’re doing more and more for the bigger issuers,” said Jamie Stirling, global head of SSA DCM.
And in keeping with the bank’s bond business overall, it also made great strides in the Swiss franc SSA market. “SSA is the only asset class where you can say everyone is equal – you don’t need to buy to play – and we’re number one in Swiss SSA,” said Zorzi.
In FIG, one theme it identified that would be meaningful last year was insurance. “About 15 months ago we realised 2024 would be a big year for insurance even though it wasn’t a big year for redemptions – 2025 and 2026 are. But there were strong arguments to prefinance,” said Damian Saunders, syndicate manager in the FIG business.
As a result, the bank was on a bunch of insurance deals, including Restricted Tier 1 transactions from AXA, ASR Nederland, NN Group, Phoenix Group and Groupama.
In emerging EMEA, BNPP consolidated its position among the leading banks, behind the two US giants of Citigroup and JP Morgan. That position is all the more impressive given that the bank is unable to transact for certain clients due to internal ESG policy constraints. Even so, BNPP is now an established top-tier player in the market, with deals across geographies and products.
These included last year's debut triple-tranche sukuk deal for Saudi Arabia, the debut sterling deal for Public Investment Fund, airBaltic’s critical transaction in financing an upcoming maturity and Ivory Coast’s comeback trade after a more than a two-year absence.
“One thing that differentiates us is that we spot trends before they happen,” said Matt Doherty, head of CEEMEA DCM syndicate.
It’s an observation that can be applied across BNPP’s bond business thanks to the talent pool at its disposal. “We’ve got best-in-class execution and best-in-class origination,” said Zorzi.
At the same time, Zorzi ensures there’s no complacency. “We don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “What’s important is that we deliver year in, year out.”
To see the digital version of this report, please click here.
To purchase printed copies or a PDF of this report, please email leonie.welss@lseg.com
