Registry · BNP

Does BNP Paribas support Israel?

Business presence documentedupdated 2026-09-26

BNP Paribas does business in Israel — we found records of its operations there, but no record of donations, aid, or a public statement of support. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Banks & financial companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

BNP Paribas is France's largest bank, and its documented links to Israel are commercial rather than philanthropic: a licensed branch it ran from 2006, and sovereign debt underwriting. It underwrote Israel's $2 billion dollar-denominated benchmark in January 2023 and then led the $8 billion three-tranche sale of March 2024, the state's largest international issue during the Gaza war, taking $2 billion of that deal onto its own books before placing it. BNP Paribas did not appear in the underwriting syndicates of Israel's subsequent dollar benchmarks in February 2025 or January 2026. Earlier it ran its own licensed branch in Israel: the Bank of Israel granted the licence in April 2006, the branch opened in November 2006, and Israel’s disclosure covering the end of 2011 still listed BNP Paribas Israel among five limited-operation foreign bank branches. From the disclosure covering the end of 2012 that roster names only four — Citibank, HSBC, Barclays and State Bank of India — and the same four are named for the end of 2024, when Israel had sixteen banking corporations in all. This research found no BNP Paribas donations, humanitarian giving or public statements relating to Israel or the war. Our records are a floor, not a ceiling.

SEC — State of Israel prospectus supplement (424B5, March 2024) SEC — State of Israel 18-K/A, banking sector description (foreign banks in Israel) SEC — State of Israel 18-K exhibit filed 29 June 2007 (branch opened November 2006) SEC — State of Israel 18-K/A exhibit filed 30 January 2013 (BNP Paribas Israel among five foreign-bank branches, end-2011) SEC — State of Israel 18-K exhibit filed 28 June 2013 (four foreign-bank branches at end-2012, BNP Paribas not among them)

Timeline of documented records

Documented records

Type	Date	Amount	Recipient	Sources
Operations in Israel	2006-11	—	BNP Paribas Israel — the bank’s own licensed branch in Israel BNP Paribas ran its own licensed bank branch in Israel. The State of Israel’s annual disclosure to the SEC records that the bank "was granted a license to open a branch in Israel" in April 2006, and that "In November 2006, BNP Paribas opened a branch in Israel". The filing covering the end of 2011 still lists "BNP Paribas Israel" as one of five branches of foreign banks with limited operations in the country. The branch is absent from the next annual filing: the exhibit filed 28 June 2013 names the four foreign-bank branches then operating — Citibank N.A., HSBC Bank PLC, Barclays Bank PLC and State Bank of India — without BNP Paribas, and the exhibit covering the end of 2024 names the same four. In a Calcalist interview, Charles Reisman, head of the Israeli branch, said BNP Paribas had received the Bank of Israel permit for it about three years earlier. This is the bank’s own commercial presence in Israel, not a donation, aid or a statement of support.	SEC — State of Israel 18-K exhibit filed 30 June 2006 (April 2006 branch licence) SEC — State of Israel 18-K exhibit filed 29 June 2007 (branch opened November 2006) SEC — State of Israel 18-K/A exhibit filed 30 January 2013 (BNP Paribas Israel among five foreign-bank branches, end-2011) SEC — State of Israel 18-K exhibit filed 28 June 2013 (four foreign-bank branches at end-2012, BNP Paribas not among them) Calcalist — interview with Charles Reisman, head of BNP Paribas’ Israeli branch
Government contract	2023-01	$500,000,000	State of Israel (sovereign bond issuance) BNP Paribas was one of four joint book-running managers — with Barclays Bank PLC, BofA Securities and Citigroup Global Markets — of the State of Israel's $2 billion 4.500% bond due 2033, priced on January 10, 2023. The underwriting table in Israel's SEC prospectus supplement shows BNP Paribas severally agreeing to purchase $500 million of the issue. The amount recorded here is BNP Paribas' own underwriting commitment, not the size of the deal. The executed underwriting agreement of January 10, 2023 — filed as Exhibit J to Israel's Form 18-K/A on January 17, 2023 and signed for BNP Paribas by two authorised signatories — repeats the same $500,000,000 allocation in its Schedule I.	SEC — State of Israel prospectus supplement (424B5, January 2023) SEC — State of Israel Form 18-K/A, Exhibit J: executed Underwriting Agreement of 10 January 2023 (Schedule I)
Government contract	2024-03	$2,000,000,000	State of Israel (sovereign bond issuance) BNP Paribas led Israel's largest wartime bond sale: it was named first among the four joint book-running managers — with BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC — of the State of Israel's $8 billion three-tranche international offering priced on March 5, 2024, which financed the state budget during the Gaza war. The underwriting table shows BNP Paribas taking $500 million of the 2029 tranche and $750 million of each of the 2034 and 2054 tranches, $2 billion in all. Research by Profundo for BankTrack and PAX counted BNP Paribas among seven Western banks that underwrote $19.4 billion of Israeli sovereign debt between October 2023 and January 2025.	SEC — State of Israel prospectus supplement (424B5, March 2024) BankTrack / PAX (Profundo research) Follow the Money — investigation into Western banks financing Israel's war

Frequently asked questions

Did BNP Paribas donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of donations. What is on record is commercial activity in Israel (Operations in Israel, Government contract), which is not the same as support — see the records on this page.

Where does this information come from?

Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 11 distinct sources are cited for BNP Paribas. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-26