BNP Paribas’ Long-Time Chief Bonnafe Eyes Another Three Years

(Bloomberg) — After more than 13 years at the helm BNP Paribas SA, Jean-Laurent Bonnafe isn’t quite done yet.

With less than two years before the chief executive officer reaches retirement age, BNP Paribas is asking shareholders to raise the age limit for his role and give him a new three-year board term. Approval at the shareholder meeting in May would open the door for the 63 year-old to stay on until 2028, and perhaps longer.

Already one of Europe’s longest-serving bank CEOs, Bonnafe built up the trading business and propelled the asset management unit into the top ranks with the €5.1 billion ($5.5 billion) takeover of Axa SA’s investment arm agreed last year. Another chapter would give him the chance to oversee a remaining priority, the overhaul of the sprawling French commercial and retail business, and finally groom a successor.

The two biggest competitors of BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole SA and Societe Generale SA, have recently appointed new CEOs. At SocGen, Slawomir Krupa took over from long-time CEO Frederic Oudea about two years ago. Credit Agricole in December chose Olivier Gavalda to replace Philippe Brassac in May.

BNP’s proposal, published on page 10 of France’s Journal Officiel on Feb. 28, would raise the age limit for the CEO to 69 years, from 65 currently. The lender also asking shareholders to increase the retirement age for Chairman Jean Lemierre to 79, from 76. Lemierre, who turns 75 in June, took the job in December 2014, three years after Bonnafe became CEO.

Despite his long tenure, there’s no obvious candidate yet to follow in Bonnafe’s footsteps. His two deputy CEOs, Yann Gerardin and Thierry Laborde, are 63 and 64 years old, respectively.

Marguerite Berard, who oversaw the French retail and commercial bank and was seen by some inside the bank as a likely candidate for the CEO role, left last year and has recently been named to run Dutch rival ABN Amro Bank NV. 

Read also: Berard’s Challenges at ABN Only Begin With Learning Dutch

Her successor, Isabelle Loc, has a chance to raise her profile if she succeeds in turning around the retail business. Analysts also point to a broad bench of veterans who have risen through the firm’s ranks.

The troubles at the French commercial and retail business were one reason why shares of BNP Paribas trailed their European peers over the past two years, as costly hedges compounded the hit from local rules that limited the benefit of higher interest rates.

Despite those challenges, BNP’s shares outperformed the broader industry during Bonnafe’s tenure, more than doubling in value. Billions of euros in shareholder payouts from the sale of a US subsidiary boosted investor returns further.

But his landmark deal only came about last year, when Bonnafe agreed to take over Axa’s investment arm. The transaction will create one of Europe’s largest money managers and allow BNP Paribas to challenge Europe’s largest asset manager, Credit Agricole’s Amundi.

“BNP is one of Europe’s banks that has evolved most over the last ten years,” Johann Scholtz, an analyst at Morningstar, said in an interview last month. “It’s not going to be easy if you step into someone’s shoes that has left such a big mark on an organization as Bonnafe has.”

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