The transatlantic tussle between France’s biggest bank and US regulators over alleged sanctions breaches escalated yesterday after BNP Paribas’s credit rating came under threat and François Hollande said he would raise the issue with Barack Obama.
Amid alarm among French politicians about the prospect of BNP Paribas being fined as much as $10bn – more than its annual profits – Standard & Poor’s said it had put the bank’s A+ rating on “credit watch with negative implications”.
The French and US presidents are set to discuss the issue at a private dinner in Paris this evening. “The justice system is independent in France and in the US, but we can make arguments regarding the disproportionate character,” Mr Hollande said yesterday.