BNP Paribas chair to retire
BNP Paribas chairman Michel Pebereau, who in the course of a decade turned a state-owned French lender into one of the biggest banks in Europe, is expected to announce his retirement before shareholders tomorrow.
Pebereau, 69, was widely expected to step down before reaching the retirement age of 70 next year. Chief executive Baudouin Prot is seen as his likely successor.
A BNP spokeswoman declined to comment, but said the bank could be expected to give an update on management changes at the annual shareholders’ meeting tomorrow.
“It is already known that we have begun the last year of Pebereau’s chairmanship,” she said.
BNP chief operating officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe is now in line to take the chief executive officer position.
Bonnafe has been seen as the candidate to replace Prot for some time, with insiders describing him as his “dauphin.”