Bond BNP Paribas SA 3.25% ( XS1839002000 ) in NOK

BNP Paribas SA

100 % ⇌

France

XS1839002000 ( in NOK )

3.25% per year ( payment 1 time a year)

26/06/2028

Prospectus brochure of the bond BNP Paribas XS1839002000 en NOK 3.25%, maturity 26/06/2028

1 000 000 NOK

225 000 000 NOK

26/06/2025 ( In 34 days )

BNP Paribas is a leading international banking group providing a wide range of financial services including retail banking, investment banking, asset management, and corporate and institutional banking to individuals, businesses, and governments worldwide.

BNP Paribas issued a NOK 225,000,000 bond (ISIN: XS1839002000), currently trading at 100% of face value, offering a 3.25% coupon with annual payments, maturing on June 26, 2028, and with a minimum lot size of NOK 1,000,000.

BASE PROSPECTUS DATED 2 AUGUST 2017

BNP PARIBAS
(incorporated in France)
(as Issuer)
90,000,000,000
EURO MEDIUM TERM NOTE PROGRAMME
Under this 90,000,000,000 euro medium term note programme (the "Programme"), BNP
Paribas1 ("BNPP", the "Bank" or the "Issuer") may from time to time issue Notes in bearer or
registered form (respectively, "Bearer Notes" and "Registered Notes" and, together, the "Notes")
denominated in any currency agreed by the Issuer and the relevant Dealer(s) (as defined below).
This Base Prospectus ("Base Prospectus" or "this Document") supersedes and replaces all
previous offering circulars or prospectuses prepared in connection with the Programme. Any Notes
(as defined below) issued under the Programme on or after the date of this Document are issued
subject to the provisions described herein. This does not affect any Notes already in issue. This
Base Prospectus constitutes a base prospectus for the purposes of Article 5.4 of the Prospectus
Directive. The "Prospectus Directive" means Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended, and includes
any relevant implementing measure in a relevant Member State of the European Economic Area.
Notes may be issued whose return (whether in respect of any interest payable on such Notes
and/or their redemption amount) is linked to one or more indices including custom indices ("Index
Linked Notes") or one or more Shares of any company(ies) (including global depositary receipts
and/or American depositary receipts) ("Share Linked Notes") or one or more inflation indices
("Inflation Linked Notes") or one or more commodities or commodity indices ("Commodity
Linked Notes") or one or more interests or units in funds or one or more fund indices ("Fund
Linked Notes") or the credit of a specified entity or entities ("Credit Linked Notes") or one or
more fund shares or interests in exchange traded funds, exchange traded notes, exchange traded
commodities or other exchange traded products (each an "exchange traded instrument") ("ETI
Linked Notes") or one or more foreign exchange rates ("Foreign Exchange (FX) Rate Linked
Notes") or one or more underlying interest rate ("Underlying Interest Rate Linked Notes") or any
combination thereof ("Hybrid Notes") as more fully described herein. Notes may provide that
settlement wil by way of cash settlement ("Cash Settled Notes") or physical delivery ("Physical
Delivery Notes") as provided in the applicable Final Terms.
The Notes wil be issued to one or more of the Dealers specified below (each a "Dealer" and
together the "Dealers", which expression shal include any additional Dealer appointed under the
Programme from time to time) on a continuing basis by way of private or syndicated placements.
The Notes may be governed by English law or French law, as specified in the applicable Final
Terms, and the corresponding provisions in the terms and conditions wil apply to such Notes.
Application has been made to the Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") in France for
approval of this Base Prospectus in its capacity as competent authority pursuant to Article 212-2 of
its Règlement Général which implements the Prospectus Directive on the prospectus to be
published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading under French law. Upon
such approval, application may be made for Notes issued under the Programme during a period of
12 months from the date of this Base Prospectus to be listed and/or admitted to trading on
Euronext Paris and/or a Regulated Market (as defined below) in another Member State of the
European Economic Area. Euronext Paris is a regulated market for the purposes of the Markets in

1
Which for the avoidance of doubt only refers to BNP Paribas S.A. and not the Group

Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC (each such regulated market being a "Regulated
Market"). References in this Base Prospectus to Notes being "listed" (and all related references)
shal mean that such Notes have been listed and admitted to trading on Euronext Paris or, as the
case may be, a Regulated Market (including the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock
Exchange) or the Euro MTF exchange regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (the
"Euro MTF Market") or on such other or further stock exchange(s) as may be agreed between the
Issuer and the relevant Dealer(s). The Issuer may also issue unlisted Notes. The relevant final
terms (the forms of each contained herein) in respect of the issue of any Notes wil specify whether
or not such Notes wil be admitted to trading, and, if so, the relevant Regulated Market or other or
further stock exchange(s). Except in certain specified circumstances the specific terms of each
Tranche wil be set forth in a set of final terms to this Base Prospectus which is the final terms
document (the "Final Terms") which wil be completed at the time of the agreement to issue each
Tranche of Notes and (other than in the case of Exempt Notes) which wil constitute final terms for
the purposes of Article 5.4 of the Prospectus Directive which wil be filed with the AMF. This Base
Prospectus and any supplement thereto wil be available on the Issuer's website
(www.invest.bnpparibas.com) and the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).
The requirement to publish a prospectus under the Prospectus Directive only applies to Notes
which are to be admitted to trading on a regulated market in the European Economic Area and/or
offered to the public in the European Economic Area other than in circumstances where an
exemption is available under Article 3.2 of the Prospectus Directive (as implemented in the
relevant Member State(s)). References in this Base Prospectus to "Exempt Notes" are to Notes
for which no prospectus is required to be published under the Prospectus Directive. The AMF has
neither approved nor reviewed information contained in this Base Prospectus in connection with
Exempt Notes. Canadian dol ar denominated Notes settling and clearing through CDS Clearing
and Depository Services Inc. ("CDS", and such Notes "Canadian Notes") may be issued as
Exempt Notes only.
Approval wil also be granted by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in accordance with Part IV of
the Luxembourg Act on prospectuses for securities dated 10 July 2005, as amended, for Notes
(including Exempt Notes) issued under the Programme to be admitted to the Official List and
admitted to trading on the Euro MTF Market during the twelve-months after the date of approval of
this Base Prospectus. This Base Prospectus also constitutes a prospectus for the purpose of Part
IV of the Luxembourg law on prospectuses for securities dated 10 July 2005, as amended. The
Euro MTF is not a regulated market for the purposes of Directive 2004/39/EC.
The specific terms of each Tranche of Exempt Notes wil be set out in a final terms for exempt
notes document (the "Final Terms for Exempt Notes"). In respect of Exempt Notes to be
admitted to trading on the Euro MTF Market, the applicable Final Terms for Exempt Notes wil be
delivered to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on or before the date of issue of the Exempt Notes
of the relevant Tranche and published on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange
(www.bourse.lu). Copies of Final Terms for Exempt Notes wil be available from the specified
office of the Principal Paying Agent (subject as provided in paragraph 4 of "General Information",
starting on page 829). Any reference in this Base Prospectus to "Final Terms", "relevant Final
Terms" or "applicable Final Terms" wil be deemed to include a reference to "Final Terms for
Exempt Notes", "relevant Final Terms for Exempt Notes" or "applicable Final Terms for Exempt
Notes" in relation to Exempt Notes, to the extent applicable.
BNPP's long-term credit ratings are A with a stable outlook (Standard & Poor's Credit Market
Services France SAS ("Standard & Poor's")), A1 with a stable outlook (Moody's Investors Service
Ltd. ("Moody's")), A+ with a stable outlook (Fitch France S.A.S. ("Fitch France")) and AA (low)
with a stable outlook (DBRS Limited ("DBRS")) and BNPP's short-term credit ratings are A-1
(Standard & Poor's), P-1 (Moody's), F1 (Fitch France) and R-1 (middle) (DBRS). Each of
Standard & Poor's, Moody's, Fitch France and DBRS is established in the European Union and is
registered under the Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2009 (as amended) (the "CRA Regulation"). As
such each of Standard & Poor's, Moody's, Fitch France and DBRS is included in the list of credit
rating agencies published by the European Securities and Markets Authority on its website (at

2

http://www.esma.europa.eu/page/List-registered-and-certified-CRAs) in accordance with the CRA
Regulation. Notes issued under the Programme may be rated or unrated. A security rating is not a
recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to suspension, reduction or
withdrawal at any time. Please also refer to "Ratings of the Notes" in the Risk Factors section of
this Base Prospectus.
Arranger for the Programme
BNP PARIBAS
Dealers
Barclays
BNP Paribas
BofA Merrill Lynch
BNP Paribas Arbitrage S.N.C.
Commerzbank
BNP Paribas UK Limited
Credit Suisse
Citigroup
Goldman Sachs International
J.P. Morgan
UBS Investment Bank
Morgan Stanley

3

IMPORTANT NOTICES
Disclaimer statement for Notes
In relation to investors in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Notes issued in connection with this Base
Prospectus and related offering documents must be in registered form and must only be marketed to
existing account holders and accredited investors as defined by the CBB (as defined below) in the
Kingdom of Bahrain where such investors make a minimum investment of at least U.S.$ 100,000 or
any equivalent amount in other currency or such other amount as the CBB may determine.
This offer does not constitute an offer of securities in the Kingdom of Bahrain in terms of Article (81) of
the Central Bank and Financial Institutions Law 2006 (decree Law No. 64 of 2006). This Base
Prospectus and related offering documents have not been and wil not be registered as a prospectus
with the Central Bank of Bahrain ("CBB"). Accordingly, no Notes may be offered, sold or made the
subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase nor wil this Base Prospectus or any other related
document or material be used in connection with any offer, sale or invitation to subscribe or purchase
Notes, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in the Kingdom of Bahrain, other than as marketing to
accredited investors for an offer outside Bahrain.
The CBB has not reviewed, approved or registered this Base Prospectus or related offering
documents and it has not in any way considered the merits of the Notes to be marketed for
investment, whether in or outside the Kingdom of Bahrain. Therefore, the CBB assumes no
responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the statements and information contained in this
document and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from
reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this document.
No offer of Notes wil be made to the public in the Kingdom of Bahrain and this Base Prospectus must
be read by the addressee only and must not be issued, passed to, or made available to the public
generally.
Notice to Canadian Purchasers of Notes other than Canadian Notes
Prospective Canadian purchasers of Notes are advised that the information contained within this
Base Prospectus has not been prepared with regard to matters that may be of particular concern to
Canadian purchasers. Accordingly, prospective Canadian purchasers of Notes should consult with
their own legal, financial and tax advisers concerning the information contained within the Base
Prospectus and as to the suitability of an investment in the Notes in their particular circumstances.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a Canadian purchaser
with remedies for rescission or damages if this Base Prospectus (including any amendment thereto)
contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by
the Canadian purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the Canadian
purchaser's province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the
securities legislation of the Canadian purchaser's province or territory for particulars of these rights or
consult with a legal advisor.
Prospective Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that: (a) any of the Issuer or the Dealers may be
required to provide personal information pertaining to any Canadian purchaser as required to be
disclosed in Schedule 1 of Form 45-106F1 under National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions
("NI45-106") (including the Canadian purchaser's name, address, telephone number and the
aggregate purchase price of any Notes purchased) ("personal information"), which Form 45-106F1
may be required to be filed under NI 45-106, (b) such personal information may be delivered to the
Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") and/or other applicable securities regulators in accordance
with NI 45-106, (c) such personal information is collected indirectly by the OSC and other applicable
Canadian securities regulators under the authority granted under the securities legislation of Ontario
and other applicable Canadian securities laws, (d) such personal information is collected for the
purposes of the administration and enforcement of the securities legislation of the relevant Canadian
jurisdiction, and (e) the public official in Ontario who can answer questions about the OSC's indirect
collection of such personal information at the date of this Base Prospectus, is the Administrative
Support Clerk at the OSC, Suite 1903, Box 55, 20 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3S8,
Telephone: (416) 593-3684. Each prospective Canadian purchaser that purchases any Notes wil be
deemed to have authorised the indirect collection of the personal information by the OSC and/or other

4

applicable Canadian provincial securities regulators, and to have acknowledged and consented to its
name, address, telephone number and other specified information, including the aggregate purchase
price paid by the Canadian purchaser, being disclosed to relevant Canadian securities regulatory
authorities, and to have acknowledged that such information may become available to the public in
accordance with requirements of applicable Canadian laws.
Upon receipt of this Base Prospectus, each Canadian purchaser is hereby deemed to confirm that it
has expressly requested that all documents evidencing or relating in any way to the sale of Notes
described herein (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any purchase confirmation or any notice) be
drawn up in the English language only. Par la réception de ce document, chaque acheteur canadien
est réputé d'avoir confirmé par les présentes qu'il a expressément exigé que tous les documents
faisant foi ou se rapportant de quelque manière que ce soit à la vente des billets décrites aux
présentes (incluant, pour éviter toute incertitude, toute confirmation d'achat ou tout avis) soient
rédigés en anglais seulement.
IMPORTANT EEA RETAIL INVESTORS Unless the Final Terms in respect of any Notes specifies
the "Prohibition of Sales to EEA Retail Investors Legend" as not applicable, the Notes, from
1 January 2018, are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and, with effect
from such date, should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the
EEA. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client
as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU ("MiFID II"); (i ) a customer within the
meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (IMD), where that customer would not qualify as a professional
client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (i i) not a qualified investor as defined in the
Prospectus Directive. Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No
1286/2014 (the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling those Notes or otherwise making them
available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or sel ing those
Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the
PRIIPs Regulation.

5

Table of Contents
Programme Summary ............................................................................................................................. 7
Programme Summary (in French) ........................................................................................................ 41
Pro Forma Issue Specific Summary of the Programme ....................................................................... 81
Pro Forma Issue Specific Summary of the Programme (in French) ................................................... 115
Risk Factors ........................................................................................................................................ 154
Forward-Looking Statements .............................................................................................................. 213
Presentation of Financial Information ................................................................................................. 213
User's guide to the Base Prospectus .................................................................................................. 214
Documents Incorporated by Reference .............................................................................................. 218
General Description of the Programme .............................................................................................. 228
Terms and Conditions of the English Law Notes ................................................................................ 240
Terms and Conditions of the French Law Notes ................................................................................ 301
Annex 1 Additional Terms and Conditions for Payouts ...................................................................... 349
Annex 2 Additional Terms and Conditions for Index Linked Notes..................................................... 403
Annex 3 Additional Terms and Conditions for Share Linked Notes .................................................... 439
Annex 4 Additional Terms and Conditions for Inflation Linked Notes ................................................. 461
Annex 5 Additional Terms and Conditions for Commodity Linked Notes ........................................... 468
Annex 6 Additional Terms and Conditions for Fund Linked Notes ..................................................... 480
Annex 7 Additional Terms and Conditions for Credit Linked Notes .................................................... 496
Annex 8 Additional Terms and Conditions for ETI Linked Notes ........................................................ 573
Annex 9 Additional Terms and Conditions for Foreign Exchange (FX) Rate Linked Notes ............... 595
Annex 10 Additional Terms and Conditions for Underlying Interest Rate Linked Notes .................... 607
Use of Proceeds .................................................................................................................................. 614
Description of BNPP Indices ............................................................................................................... 615
Connected Third Party Indices ............................................................................................................ 666
Form of the Notes ............................................................................................................................... 667
Clearing Systems ................................................................................................................................ 671
[Form of] Final Terms .......................................................................................................................... 673
[Form of] Final Terms for Exempt Notes ............................................................................................. 734
Taxation............................................................................................................................................... 789
French Taxation .................................................................................................................................. 790
German Taxation ................................................................................................................................ 792
Hong Kong Taxation ........................................................................................................................... 796
Italian Taxation .................................................................................................................................... 798
Luxembourg Taxation ......................................................................................................................... 804
Netherlands Taxation .......................................................................................................................... 807
Portuguese Taxation ........................................................................................................................... 810
Spanish Taxation ................................................................................................................................ 812
UK Taxation ........................................................................................................................................ 815
Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act ..................................................................................... 817
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ................................................................................................. 818
Subscription and Sale ......................................................................................................................... 820
General Information ............................................................................................................................ 829
Responsibility Statement ..................................................................................................................... 842

6

PROGRAMME SUMMARY
Programme Summary
Summaries are made up of disclosure requirements known as "Elements". These Elements are
numbered in Sections A E (A.1 E.7). This Summary contains all the Elements required to be
included in a summary for this type of Notes and Issuer. Because some Elements are not required to
be addressed, there may be gaps in the numbering sequence of the Elements. Even though an
Element may be required to be inserted in the summary because of the type of Notes and Issuer, it is
possible that no relevant information can be given regarding the Element. In this case a short
description of the Element should be included in the summary explaining why it is not applicable.
Section A Introduction and warnings

Element
Title

A.1
Warning that the
This summary should be read as an introduction to the
summary should
Base Prospectus and the applicable Final Terms. In this
be read as an
summary, unless otherwise specified and except as used
introduction and
in the first paragraph of Element D.3, "Base Prospectus"
provision as to
means the Base Prospectus of BNPP dated 2 August
claims
2017 as supplemented from time to time. In the first
paragraph of Element D.3, "Base Prospectus" means the
Base Prospectus of BNPP dated 2 August 2017.

Any decision to invest in any Notes should be based on
a consideration of this Base Prospectus as a whole,
including any documents incorporated by reference and
the applicable Final Terms.

Where a claim relating to information contained in the
Base Prospectus and the applicable Final Terms is
brought before a court in a Member State of the
European Economic Area, the plaintiff may, under the
national legislation of the Member State where the claim
is brought, be required to bear the costs of translating
the Base Prospectus and the applicable Final Terms
before the legal proceedings are initiated.

No civil liability will attach to the Issuer in any such
Member State solely on the basis of this summary,
including any translation hereof, unless it is misleading,
inaccurate or inconsistent when read together with the
other parts of this Base Prospectus and the applicable
Final Terms or, it does not provide, when read together
with the other parts of this Base Prospectus and the
applicable Final Terms, key information (as defined in
Article 2.1(s) of the Prospectus Directive) in order to aid
investors when considering whether to invest in the
Notes.
A.2
Consent as to
Certain issues of Notes with a denomination of less than 100,000 (or
use the Base
its equivalent in any other currency) may be offered in circumstances
Prospectus,
where there is no exemption from the obligation under the Prospectus
period of validity Directive to publish a prospectus. Any such offer is referred to as a
and other
"Non-exempt Offer". Subject to the conditions set out below, the
conditions
Issuer consents to the use of this Base Prospectus in connection with
attached
a Non-exempt Offer of Notes by the Managers, any financial
intermediary named as an Initial Authorised Offeror in the applicable
Final Terms and any financial intermediary whose name is published

7

on
the
Issuer's
website
(https://rates-
globalmarkets.bnpparibas.com/gm/Public/LegalDocs.aspx)
and
identified as an Authorised Offeror in respect of the relevant Non-
exempt Offer and (if "General Consent" is specified in the applicable
Final Terms) any financial intermediary which is authorised to make
such offers under applicable legislation implementing the Markets in
Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2004/39/EC) and publishes
on its website the following statement (with the information in square
brackets being duly completed with the relevant information):

"We, [insert legal name of financial intermediary], refer to the offer of
[insert title of relevant Notes] (the "Notes") described in the Final
Terms dated [insert date] (the "Final Terms") published by BNP
Paribas (the "Issuer"). In consideration of the Issuer offering to grant
its consent to our use of the Base Prospectus (as defined in the Final
Terms) in connection with the offer of the Notes in the Non-exempt
Offer Jurisdictions specified in the applicable Final Terms during the
Offer Period and subject to the other conditions to such consent, each
as specified in the Base Prospectus we hereby accept the offer by the
Issuer in accordance with the Authorised Offeror Terms (as specified
in the Base Prospectus), and confirm that we are using the Base
Prospectus accordingly."

Offer period: The Issuer's consent is given for Non-exempt Offers of
Notes during the Offer Period specified in the applicable Final Terms.

Conditions to consent: The conditions to the Issuer's consent (in
addition to the conditions referred to above) are that such consent (a)
is only valid during the Offer Period specified in the applicable Final
Terms; and (b) only extends to the use of this Base Prospectus to
make Non-exempt Offers of the relevant Tranche of Notes in the Non-
exempt Offer Jurisdictions specified in the applicable Final Terms.

AN INVESTOR INTENDING TO PURCHASE OR PURCHASING
ANY NOTES IN A NON-EXEMPT OFFER FROM AN AUTHORISED
OFFEROR WILL DO SO, AND OFFERS AND SALES OF SUCH
NOTES TO AN INVESTOR BY SUCH AUTHORISED OFFEROR
WILL BE MADE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF THE OFFER IN PLACE BETWEEN SUCH
AUTHORISED OFFEROR AND SUCH INVESTOR INCLUDING
ARRANGEMENTS IN RELATION TO PRICE, ALLOCATIONS,
EXPENSES AND SETTLEMENT. THE RELEVANT INFORMATION
WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE AUTHORISED OFFEROR AT THE
TIME OF SUCH OFFER.

8

Section B - Issuer

Element
Title

B.1
Legal and
Notes may be issued under the Programme by BNP Paribas ("BNPP"
commercial
or the "Bank" or the "Issuer").
name of the
Issuer
B.2
Domicile/ legal
BNPP was incorporated in France as a société anonyme under French
form/ legislation/ law and licensed as a bank having its head office at 16, boulevard des
country of
Italiens 75009 Paris, France.
incorporation
B.4b
Trend
Macroeconomic environment.
information

Macroeconomic and market conditions affect the Bank's results. The
nature of the Bank's business makes it particularly sensitive to
macroeconomic and market conditions in Europe, which have been at
times chal enging and volatile in recent years.

In 2016, global growth stabilised slightly above 3%, despite a much
lower growth in the advanced economies. Three major transitions
continue to affect the global outlook: declining economic growth in
China, fluctuating energy prices that rose in 2016, and a second
tightening of monetary policy in the United States in the context of a
resilient domestic recovery. It should be noted that the central banks of
several
large
developed
countries
continue
to
maintain
accommodative monetary policies. IMF economic forecasts for 20171
point to a recovery in global activity, no significant improvement in
growth in the euro zone and Japan, and a slowdown in the United
Kingdom.

In that context, two risks can be identified:

Financial instability due to the vulnerability of emerging countries

While the exposure of the BNP Paribas Group to emerging countries is
limited, the vulnerability of these economies may generate disruptions
in the global financial system that could affect the BNP Paribas Group
and potentially alter its results.

A broad increase in the foreign exchange liabilities of the economies of
many emerging market economies was observed in 2016, at a time
when debt levels (in both foreign and local currency) were already
high. The private sector was the main source of the increase in this
debt. Furthermore, the prospect of a gradual increase in US key rates
(the Federal Reserve Bank made its first increase in December 2015,
and a second in December 2016) and increased financial volatility
stemming from concerns about growth and mounting geopolitical risk
in emerging markets have contributed to a tightening of external
financial conditions, increased capital outflows, further currency
depreciations in many emerging markets and heightened risks for
banks. These factors could result in further downgrades of sovereign
ratings.

There is stil a risk of disturbances in global markets (rising risk
premiums, erosion of confidence, declining growth, deferral or slower
pace of normalisation of monetary policies, declining liquidity in

1
See notably: IMF World Economic Outlook, updated in January 2017.

9

markets, asset valuation problems, decline in credit supply and
disorderly deleveraging) that could affect al banking institutions.

Systemic risks related to increased debt and market liquidity

Despite the upturn since mid-2016, interest rates remain low, which
may continue to encourage excessive risk-taking among some players
in the financial system: increased maturities of financing and assets
held, less stringent policy for granting loans, increase in leveraged
financing.

Some players (insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers,
etc.) entail an increasingly systemic dimension and in the event of
market turbulence (linked for instance to a sudden rise in interest rates
and/or a sharp price correction) they may decide to unwind large
positions in an environment of relatively weak market liquidity.

Recent years have also seen an increase in debt (public and private,
in both developed and emerging countries). The resulting risk could
materialise either in the event of a spike in interest rates or a further
negative growth shock.

Laws and regulations applicable to financial institutions.

Recent and future changes in the laws and regulations applicable to
financial institutions may have a significant impact on the Bank.
Measures that were recently adopted or which are (or whose
application measures are) stil in draft format, that have or are likely to
have an impact on the Bank notably include:

the structural reforms comprising the French banking law of 26
July 2013 requiring that banks create subsidiaries for or
segregate "speculative" proprietary operations from their
traditional retail banking activities, the "Volcker rule" in the US
which restricts proprietary transactions, sponsorship and
investment in private equity funds and hedge funds by US and
foreign banks, and upcoming potential changes in Europe;

regulations governing capital: the Capital Requirements
Directive IV ("CRD 4")/the Capital Requirements Regulation
("CRR"), the international standard for total-loss absorbing
capacity ("TLAC") and the Bank's designation as a financial
institution that is of systemic importance by the Financial
Stability Board;

the European Single Supervisory Mechanism and the
ordinance of 6 November 2014;

the Directive of 16April 2014 related to deposit guarantee
systems and its delegation and implementing decrees, the
Directive of 15 May 2014 establishing a Bank Recovery and
Resolution framework, the Single Resolution Mechanism
establishing the Single Resolution Council and the Single
Resolution Fund;

the Final Rule by the US Federal Reserve imposing tighter
prudential rules on the US transactions of large foreign banks,
notably the obligation to create a separate intermediary
holding company in the US (capitalised and subject to
regulation) to house their US subsidiaries;

the new rules for the regulation of over-the-counter derivative
activities pursuant to Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act, notably margin
requirements for uncleared derivative products and the

10