Annual stress tests of bank balance sheets were one of the last decade’s most obvious supervisory responses to the global financial crisis. With a wave of new bottom-up assessments now getting under way, regulators hope to do something similar with climate risks. Can they do it or will this simply result in a toothless box-ticking exercise?

The French lender’s wealth management university, introduced in 2017, is central to its ability to train private bankers to reach out and serve the high-net-worth clients the bank cannot afford to lose.

Deals such as this leave deeper problems unsolved at Societe Generale and similar banks.

In buying out its Exane equities joint venture partner, BNP Paribas reckons it can make a success of a business where few European peers have thrived. It also hopes to see a halo effect on underperforming franchises like ECM.

As the unlisted firm shrinks further in investment banking, its asset management business might IPO on its own.

A primarily national approach to post-Covid bad debt has cut adrift states such as Greece and Portugal, making future banking crises more likely.

Less pain in the downturn means less gain in an upturn.

SocGen appears willing to accept lower volumes as the price for avoiding losses of the kind it experienced in 2020.

With investment in technology supporting its Crédit du Nord merger, the bank hopes that product partnerships and a lower cost-to-serve will make it stand out in French retail.

The past year has brought new challenges for Crédit Agricole’s partnerships in products and distribution. But the wave of bank M&A sweeping Europe is also an opportunity – as its Creval deal shows.

After a year when credit markets propped up the financial performance of continental Europe’s biggest bank, concern remains about its credit risks.

Pre-2008 M&A mistakes still stand in the way of a bolder bank purchase such as Banco BPM.

Fear of Chinese advances with programmable money and Facebook’s Libra are pushing central banks to digital currencies, which may transform financial markets.

The EU’s new recovery fund is a historic step to help the countries worst affected by Covid avoid a debt trap. If the EU’s short-term bills become a risk-free, interest-rate instrument, this temporary response to the deadly virus could become a permanent change to Europe’s capital markets

French banks are handing out more state-guaranteed loans than other country in Europe, but they have more to worry about than small businesses in France.

After turning French banking upside down, Compte Nickel is taking its tech-savvy approach to financial inclusion abroad. Insiders say its barebones account service will spread further and keep its dynamism under BNP Paribas ownership. But can a bank for outsiders with a physical network also be the fintech champion of Europe’s banking establishment?

BNP Paribas will reach the end of its three year ‘transformation’ plan in 2020; how has it fared?

Investors have rewarded cuts but restructuring may soon recommence, sparking fears of collateral damage in businesses it still cherishes.

Corporates' increasing need to use treasury resources more efficiently has persuaded BNP Paribas to partner with fintech Kantox to offer a new dynamic hedging solution to clients.

The French bank sees an opportunity to grab market share – and a more advanced tech platform – in a business that it sees as strategic.

Europe can build a more integrated system.

Usefulness as necessity.

Medium-term plan targets same efficiency and little ROE increase, but client growth and new social motto please mutualists and Macron.

The relevance of history.

Taking blockchain proof of concepts into production is a slow process, but a new loan-servicing platform shows how banks could cut costs and improve service.

European bank mergers, especially in France and Germany, will stand or fall on the strength of staff relations.

Prospects for a European deposit insurance scheme (EDIS), together with technology, allow a relatively upbeat assessment on bank merger opportunities, according to Société Générale CEO Frédéric Oudéa.

Back-office hubs are at greater risk than London.

Disastrous fourth-quarter results cast a long shadow over Société Générale’s business, especially its corporate and investment bank. Deputy chief executive Séverin Cabannes has given up on fixed income. But is his plan to refocus on core strengths enough to reverse its fortunes?

After disastrous fourth-quarter results, Société Générale’s growth and profitability targets lie in tatters. Read on for a guide to Dominic O’Neill’s report on Séverin Cabannes’ efforts to refocus the corporate investment bank he leads, and whether or not this can recoup the group’s credibility.