BNP Paribas — Ethics Grade D

BNP Paribas receives an overall ethics grade of D (38/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Financial Services. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 40
• privacy: 70
• consumer: 50
• environment: 30
• humanRights: 40

Documented incidents (3)

• Violations of US Sanctions (high, 2014) — Pleaded guilty and paid a record fine for processing billions of dollars for entities in Sudan, Iran, and Cuba under US sanctions. The bank was accused of concealing transactions to facilitate business with regimes linked to human rights abuses.
• Fossil Fuel Financing Lawsuit (high, 2023) — Faced legal action from NGOs for allegedly failing to end financing for new oil and gas projects despite net-zero commitments. The lawsuits claim the bank is in breach of the French Duty of Vigilance Act.
• Gender Pay Discrimination Lawsuit (medium, 2022) — A former London-based banker won a significant settlement following claims of systemic sex discrimination and being paid significantly less than male counterparts in similar roles.

Documented good deeds

• Microfinance Support — Dedicated over 1 billion euros to supporting microfinance institutions globally to foster financial inclusion in developing nations.

Ethical alternatives

• Triodos Bank — Leading ethical bank focusing exclusively on social and environmental sustainability in all investments.