(CercleFinance.com) – The European Commission announces that it has approved the creation of a joint venture between BNP Paribas (‘BNPP’) and CACEIS SA, both based in France.
The joint venture will combine the activities of BNPP and CACEIS in the field of corporate trust services (‘CTS’) in France.
BNPP is a global banking group, active in retail banking, corporate and investment banking as well as other financial services.
CACEIS is a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group, and provides insurance and asset management services to companies, institutional investors, banks and brokers.
The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, as the joint venture will continue to face competitive pressure from other CTS suppliers in France.
Furthermore, although BNPP and CACEIS exploit some inputs of the CTS services, the Commission considered that they are unlikely to have the ability or incentive to adopt any foreclosure strategy.