This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Banking 500 Journal 2026.
Interview with Elise Hermant, Head of Group Communications, BNP Paribas
Head of Group Communications
BNP Paribas
Trust has become an essential differentiating factor for brands in a world where AI is omnipresent. How does the BNP Paribas brand establish trust with its stakeholders?
Trust is not decreed it is built over time. At BNP Paribas, trust is based on the strength of our model and our ability to support clients in the long term, regardless of economic cycles. This stability forms the foundation of our relationship with stakeholders.
Being a trusted partner means understanding our clients' needs. A trusted partner provides clients with expert advice that allows them to make informed decisions and achieve their financial objectives, through innovative and personalised solutions that ensure complete security of their data and their operations.
Finally, trust is strengthened by our responsible engagement and the quality of the experience we offer on a daily basis. It is built upon a relationship based on proximity, expertise and consistency between our words and actions.
For BNP Paribas, trust is far more than a differentiating factor, it is the very condition of sustainable performance.
What, in your opinion, are the main trends that will shape the banking sector over the next three years? How can brands adapt to this and take advantage of it?
Branding for tomorrow’s banking sector will need to be both technological, protective, and contributive.
Technological, because innovation, including AI and digital assets, will redefine both customer experience standards and financial infrastructure. This is why we are investing heavily in these areas, to enhance our service offering, whilst ensuring clarity, simplicity and accessibility.
Protective, because in a world where cyberfraud is on the rise and digital risks are multiplying, data protection, transaction security and awareness are absolute priorities.
And finally, contributive, because the expectations of our stakeholders now go beyond financial support. Clients demand engaged actors, capable of supporting major economic, social and environmental transitions.
What strategy do you want to implement to strengthen the BNP Paribas brand and continue the growth of its value?
Our priority is to make our leadership more visible, more distinctive and more engaging.
First, it is about continuing to assert our European leadership. In an increasingly competitive environment, BNP Paribas is a leading player in Europe, thanks to its expertise and strength. We must better highlight our role in financing the economy, our innovation capacity and our commitment to major transitions. Making this leadership more visible directly contributes to the strength and enhancement of the brand.
Next, we work on brand dynamics and the strength of the brand attributes. Visual consistency, tone, signature and narrative ecosystem are essential to create engagement. The more our codes are consistent and recognisable, the more the brand gains in impact and prevalence. The value is built over time, through repetition and clarity.
We must also capitalise on our historical areas of expression, cinema and tennis. BNP Paribas is the premier financier to French cinema and has an historical association with the world of tennis. These are powerful platforms which embody our values: performance, excellence, creativity, emotion, which create engaging experiences. The challenge is to go beyond event visibility to produce content, encounters and activations that build brand equity.
Finally, the brand's growth will come through strengthened dialogue. We must develop formats and collaborations with communities in a more direct and authentic way.
A strong brand today is a brand that exchanges, explains and listens.
