French bank BNP Paribas SA, under the threat of severe US penalties on charges of sanctions busting, announced yesterday that its chief operating officer Georges Chodron de Courcel is to quit on June 30.
At the beginning of this month, various sources said that the bank would sack Chodron de Courcel to placate US judicial authorities, but yesterday the bank said that Chodron de Courcel, aged 64, was taking retirement at his own request.
Press reports have suggested that the bank could be hit by a fine of US$10 billion or more, and that it risks being banned for a period from carrying out transactions in US dollars or even losing its US banking license.
Photo: AFP
France has hit back at the US, warning that the scale of the possible penalties could disrupt talks between the 28-member EU and the US over a huge free-trade agreement.
Chodron de Courcel is in the sights of the US authorities, which accuse BNP Paribas, a top French and European bank, of having broken sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba between 2002 and 2009 by carrying out US dollar transactions with them.
New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky called several months ago for Chodron de Courcel to be dismissed, it has been reported.
His departure will be seen as marking one of the first big concessions which the bank makes in its negotiations with the US authorities.
The matter has sparked concern at the highest levels in France, with French President Francois Hollande appealing on a number of occasions to US President Barack Obama about what he considers the “disproportionate” scale of the sanctions.
Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer is reported to have visited New York recently to plead on behalf of the bank and to warn US authorities of possible knock-on damage to the French and international financial system, and to recovery of the French and European economies.
Some analysts are skeptical about the extent of such repercussions, although some other big banks are also being probed by US officials for alleged sanctions busting and some banks have already paid heavy fines.
In the statement yesterday, BNP Paribas did not mention its legal problems in the US. It said that Chodron de Courcel, who would retire fully on Sept. 30, but is a director of several other companies, was also leaving to comply with new French banking regulations restricting the number of company directorships an individual could hold.
Some reports had said that the board of the bank was split over how to ward off the US authorities, with some arguing that the bank had done nothing wrong under French and European law, a line backed by Noyer, and others saying that the bank should not have ventured into such transactions.
In the statement, Chodron de Courcel, who has spent his entire 42-year career at the bank, said: “I am proud to have contributed to building this outstanding group, which has now become one of the European leaders in its industry.”
Chodron de Courcel is linked to the family of Bernadette Chirac, wife of former French president Jacques Chirac.
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