FORMA is a permanent photography exhibition space, created in 2005 in a restored wing of the historic ATM tram depot in Milan’s Ticinese quarter. FORMA became a Foundation in 2010 on the initiative of Contrasta, a publishing house specialising in photography. The structure has a total surface area of 1,700 sq. m., of which 800 sq. m are given over to the exhibition area.

2012 Programme

Alex Webb – THE SUFFERING OF LIGHT – From 26 April until 17 June

Thirty years of photography and reportage for this Magnum Photos artist, who through the use of bright, dense colours has immortalised the most unlikely scenes in the most disparate locations in the world. At the beginning of his career, halfway through the sixties, Webb photographed in black and white. But after a trip to Haiti in 1975, colour become an obligatory narrative choice, so much so that he began to look for locations where light and colour would become fundamental elements in understanding and describing a given territory.

Magnum Photos - THE PHOTO SELECTION – From 26 April until 17 June

Thirty of the most important contact sheets by the great artists of the Magnum Agency, alongside their chosen photos. These selected contact sheets, complete with comments by the various artists, recount stories, retrace important events from contemporary history and at the same time document the human stories evoked by the captured images. This display represents a selective preview of a broader and more complex exhibition that Magnum Photos has been working on for years and which will be presented in an international tour beginning in 2013.

Josef Koudelka – ZINGARI – From 21 June until 16 September

Zingari by Josef Koudelka is one of the most renowned photographic works of the 20th century. The exhibition, to be presented at FORMA in a world preview, faithfully reflects the sequence of the Cikáni volume, which Koudelka himself had designed in 1970 before leaving Czechoslovakia. The book, unpublished for many years and only now reaching bookstores, uses images to recount the stories of the gypsy communities of Eastern Europe. The exhibition consists of 109 photos from the volume, expressly printed for the FORMA presentation; one of the most interesting of the 2012 programme.

Saul Leiter – NEW YORK REFLECTIONS – From 21 June until 16 September

A painter and photographer, Saul Leiter embraced the philosophy of true street photography, leaving his studies to roam the footpaths, seeking rhythm in the neon lights and the faces of passers-by. His images are sophisticated and at the same time simple, just like the titles of his photos: soles, red light, straw hat. Because it’s the detail, perhaps placed right at the edge of the frame, that gives meaning to a glimpse, a glance, a ray of light or a particular day. For the first time the photos will be accompanied by a series of original paintings by the same artist.

Nino Migliori – THE MATTER OF DREAMS – From 27 September 2012 until 6 January 2013

The doyen of Italian photography, Nino Migliori has explored many different photographic languages throughout his long career. His are some of the most beautiful and intense images of post-war Italian realism and represent some of the most innovative experimentation, which from the fifties onwards defined his artistic journey, often foreshadowing the work of other photographers.

To find out more:

www.formafoto.it

This month of May, the subjects are:

ECB : The Art of reform
Philippe d’Arvisenet, Chief economist

French growth: desperately seeking for a new model
Hélène Baudchon, OECD economist

Slow start of year in China
Christine Peltier, Deputy head of the country risk

About …

The BNP Paribas Economic Research department brings together economists in the banking sector from financial markets across the world. The website offers different publications: macroeconomic analysis, monetary and financial reports of OCDE countries, country risks for emerging countries and the evolution of the financial and banking world.

GOOD PERFORMANCE ACHIEVED WHILST IMPLEMENTING THE GROUP’S ADAPTATION PLAN

Against a backdrop of economic slowdown in the euro zone, the BNP Paribas Group achieved
good performance all the whilst rapidly implementing its adaptation plan. Eighty percent of the
target of improving the common equity Tier 1 ratio by 100 basis points is achieved.

Revenues totalled 9,886 million euros, down 15.4% compared to the first quarter 2011. Three
exceptional items had an adverse impact on revenues this quarter for a total of
-1,059 million euros: own debt revaluation (-843 million euros), losses from sales of sovereign
bonds (-142 million euros) and losses from sales of loans (-74 million euros). Excluding these
items, revenues came to 10,945 million euros, a decline of only 6.3% compared to the first quarter
2011, which was marked by very good business activity.

Operating expenses, which were 6,847 million euros, edged up 1.8%. Excluding one-off adaptation
costs at CIB and Personal Finance which totalled 84 million euros, they inched up 0.5%, confirming
good cost control.

Gross operating income was down 38.7% for the period at 3,039 million euros. Excluding
exceptional items, the decline was 15.6%.

The Group’s cost of risk, which was 945 million euros or 55 basis points of outstanding customer
loans, edged up only 2.8% compared to the first quarter 2011 and still remains low, illustrating the
good risk controls.

Non-operating items totalled 1,844 million euros due to 1,790 million euros of exceptional income
booked after the Group’s sale of a 28.7% stake in Klépierre SA. This sale was part of the plan to
adapt BNP Paribas’ balance sheet in preparation for Basel 3.

BNP Paribas posted 2,867 million euros in net income (attributable to equity holders), up 9.6%
compared to the first quarter 2011. The average corporate income tax rate was thus 24% due to a
lower tax rate on the capital gain from the sale of the stake in Klépierre. Excluding this effect, the
average rate was 30.9%.

Adjusted for the exceptional items, net income amounted to 2,038 million euros, down 22.1%
compared to the first quarter 2011.

This good performance and the Group’s rapid implementation of its adaptation plan helped further
strengthen solvency with a common equity Tier 1 ratio under Basel 2.5 (CRD 3) of 10.4% (+80bp
compared to 31 December 2011).

Read the press release “BNP Paribas Group: Results as at 31 March 2012″

View the slides of the presentation

Press Contacts:

Antoine Sire
Tel: + 33 1 40 14 21 06
antoine.sire@bnpparibas.com

Carine Lauru
Tel: + 33 1 42 98 13 36
carine.lauru@bnpparibas.com

Isabelle Wolff
Tel : +33(0)1 57 43 89 26
isabelle.wolff@bnpparibas.com

The Assembly then proceeded to appoint the new Board of Directors, composed of 15 members, which will remain in office for three financial periods, up until the approval of the financial reports as at 31 December 2014.

The Assembly renewed the mandate of the Chairman Luigi Abete and appointed the following Board members: Roger Abravanel, Philippe Blavier, Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, Jean Clamon, Sergio Erede, Fabio Gallia, Mario Girotti, Bernard Lemée, Paolo Mazzotto, Silvia Merlo, Stefano Micossi, Jean-Paul Sabet, Antoine Sire and François Villeroy de Galhau. The new Board of Directors, which met in the afternoon, renewed Fabio Gallia’s mandate as Managing Director of the Bank, granting him the fullest managerial powers.

Lastly, in today’s meeting the new Board of Directors elected Vice Chairman Sergio Erede and proceeded to establish:

• the Internal Audit Committee composed of Directors Mario Girotti (coordinator), Philippe Blavier, Paolo Mazzotto, Stefano Micossi and Jean-Paul Sabet.

• the Salaries and Appointments Committee, composed of Directors Roger Abravanel (Coordinator), Jean Clamon and Bernard Lemée.

BNP Paribas Real Estate UK released the first edition of the Retail Risk Index. This is the first piece of research of its kind in the UK market, and is designed to guide investors in developing their investment strategies for retail property.

The report looks at the financial health of retailers and then analyses where those retailers are located within the top 100 towns to form an index of the most and least risky towns.

The national picture shows that 10% of units in the top 100 towns are at very high risk of collapse or closure, 20% are either charity shops or vacant and a further 25% of units occupied by retailers which pose ‘high’ or ‘borderline’ risk. Less than half of the units analysed are occupied by retailers considered ‘secure’.

Despite having a most and least risky top 10, there are opportunities throughout for investors. It is important for investors to know where to invest and where, perhaps, they need to manage their portfolios or change their strategies.

Even the most dominant towns are not immune to risk and within the most risky towns there are thriving areas – if you know where to look.

Read the Retail Risk Index (2,564 Mo)

This year the bank wants to expand its web presence to create a real BNL tennis community.  The official web channel wearetennis.com, a gathering place for fans of all the tennis events taking place in Italy and around the world, has in fact been enhanced by a blog that will be constantly updated with in-depth news of the tournament, interviews with players, results and photos.  The wearetennis.com site is also linked to the Facebook and Twitter social networking channels, so that fans can not only follow the games but also become actively involved in the BNL Community.  And indeed, a dedicated Facebook page has been set up for posting news, exchanging views and information on players and proposing topics for discussion.  This same type of interactive participation is planned for Twitter.

Visitors to the Foro Italico Village will also have access to a social-multimedia area, specially set up by BNL.  This is a high-tech info-point featuring iPads, which will allow free, immediate navigation on the wearetennis.com site and all the related social networking channels, giving visitors constant updates on the matches.

BNL also planned to use this opportunity to emphasise its commitment to environmental issues and eco-sustainability. The BNL Areas at the Foro Italico have been set up using innovative construction methods and lightweight structures made of recycled, recyclable and renewable materials.  “Green walls” have been incorporated in all the BNL spaces: the surfaces are covered with real plants, creating a delightful effect. These are genuine plant walls that not only absorb carbon dioxide and UV rays but also act as heat and sound insulation barriers, so helping to reduce energy consumption.

At the grand final’s in Paris, five teams competed for the 2012 Ace Manager title. These five teams had emerged as finalists following the preliminary online contest, which took place between 20 February and 20 March.

The final five teams, each made up of three students, were set a dual challenge, with the opportunity to impress a jury composed of the President of the University of Paris Dauphine and senior managers from the BNP Paribas Group(1). In the morning, the fifteen contestants worked on a Financial case study linked to the Group’s three major business fields – Retail Banking; Corporate & Investment Banking; and Investment Solutions (asset management). In the afternoon, they were asked to imagine the ‘bank of tomorrow’ and present their vision of how the banking profession will have evolved in five years’ time.

The prize-giving ceremony, held at the Group’s Offices in Paris, was presided over by François Villeroy de Galhau, Chief Operating Officer of the BNP Paribas Group.

The final ranking order was as follows:

1. Kinetic , composed of three students from Singapore, pursuing studies in National Univesity of Singapore.
2. Olivbergen, composed of three students from Sweden, pursuing studies in Stockholm School of Economics.
3. 75/25, composed of three students from the Ukraine, pursuing studies in Kviv School of Economics.
4. Fusion and SW&P, 2 Russian teams tied for 4th place. Each team was composed of three students, coming from « Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation » and « Higher School of Economics » respectively.

Ace Manager – The Fourth Set this year attracted over 14,205 contestants from145 countries.

The top three teams were awarded EUR9,000, EUR3,000 and EUR1,500 respectively and all fifteen contestants received tickets for tennis events. In addition, for the second year running, BNP Paribas offered each of the finalists a wide choice of international internships in the Group’s three business divisions.

Ace Manager – The Fourth Set was designed by a team of BNP Paribas experts. The contest is part of BNP Paribas’ overall strategy for enhancing brand recognition and employer-brand appeal among students. The competition is particularly useful for this purpose outside France. While the Group brand is extremely well-known among corporate clients in a number of countries, it is less well-known among students. BNP Paribas has therefore set itself the target of becoming one of the most attractive employer-brands among students worldwide.

The competition sets out to highlight, in the form of a serious game, the central role of the professional banker in financing clients’ projects, in full accordance with economic realities.

To help enhance brand recognition and increase the Group’s appeal to students from top universities and colleges all over the world, BNP Paribas chose to base the Ace Manager contest on the world of tennis, a sport with which the Group already has strong links through its worldwide sponsorship of the game for almost 40 years. Moreover, the Bank is well-placed to offer exciting career prospects to new recruits. Today some 68% of all Group customers and staff are located outside France, and BNP Paribas is constantly looking to recruit talented people from highly diverse backgrounds all over the world for a range of over 300 different job-types.

Ace Manager – The Fourth Set in figures

14,205 contestants

145 countries represented
Countries with the highest representation were: lndia (2,812 contestants), Italy (2,112 contestants), France (799 contestants), Turkey (694 contestants), the UK (685 contestants), Singapore (523 contestants), Indonesia (513 contestants), Ukraine (495 contestants), Russia (484 contestants) and Poland (469 contestants). Last year, the third annual round of the contest attracted some 12,832 contestants, from 140 countries.

The contest website – www.acemanager.bnpparibas.com – has received a total of a 374,159 visits, including 178,132 unique hits, with over 4.3 million pages viewed, since its launch on 20 October 2009.
20,911 fans of the Ace Manager Facebook page
635 Twitter followers

BNP Paribas works in close collaboration with the TBWACorporate agency on this high-profile international competition.

Careers at BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas hires a large number of talented new colleagues each year. In 2012, the Group is planning to recruit around 13,000 new staff worldwide, including 1,500 to 2,000 people in France. As part of our pre-recruitment process, BNP Paribas also offers more than 1,100 internships per year in France to students approaching the end of their course.
A key recruitment principle at BNP Paribas is long-term career development. Staff benefit from individual career management counselling with the support of dedicated teams who are there to assist every employee with his or her career path, job moves and/or new directions. The Group also has highly effective talent development and skills development programmes in place.
As BNP Paribas engages in a wide variety of business activities, there are numerous opportunities to build a career at the Group, with regular job moves within a given business, from one business area to another, or by moving between geographical locations. For more information, have a look at the websites listed below:

http://www.recrutement.bnpparibas.com/
http://backstage.bnpparibas.com/
http://careers.bnpparibas.com/
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees, including more than 150,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending.
BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across Mediterranean basin countries, in Turkey, in Eastern Europe and a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.

(1) Laurent Batsch, President of the University of Paris Dauphine
Muriel Atias, Corporate and Investment Banking, Corporate Finance
Olga Semenenko, Brand Manager, Europe Mediterranean
Virginie Fauvel, Head of Online Banking
Laurence Pessez, Member of the Corporate Social Responsibility
Jean-Francois Boutringain, COO for the Group Brand, Communications and Quality .
Press contact:
BNP Paribas Loubna Sebti – loubna.sebti@bnpparibas.com ; 0033 (0)1 40 14 66

The initiative will begin in Rome, and films will be shown from the 17th to 22nd of April, in the Casa del Cinema and Cinema Fiamma film houses, as well as in Villa Medici and the Institut français-Centre Saint-Louis. Events will continue throughout May, also reaching other Italian cities.  From the 2nd to 4th of May the screenings will take place in Palermo, from the 7th to the 10th in Milan, and finally in Turin from the 11th to 13th of May.  The Italian public will have the opportunity to enjoy contemporary French cinema, and the artists and the forms of expression used in the rich line-up of films on offer. In backing this initiative, BNL aims to reconfirm its commitment to the world of cinema yet again, and so qualify as a privileged interlocutor for the cinematographic industry.

In fact BNL, is the reference bank for the cinema world, providing its own funds as well as state funds, as financial backing for the entire cinematographic process. This ranges from concept to realization, distribution and consumption of films, the introduction of innovative technologies and the physical restructuring of the cinemas themselves.  This commitment has allowed us to make over  5.000 films over the years, many of which have become part of Italian cinema history gaining important international recognition. BNL also supports the cinematographic industry by providing assistance in the form of economic advantages, such as tax credits.  The Bank’s investment policy favours the diversification of funds across many productions, with the aim of promoting the distribution of Italian cinema, both in a domestic level, as well as in foreign markets.

The Bank has been the main partner of the Rome International Film Festival since 2006, in an event that continues to find favour with the public, year after year.  Furthermore, BNL contributes to the enhancement of the Italian Cinema Academy – David di Donatello Awards – by participating as an Institutional partner for the fourth year running. This year the awards ceremony will be held on the 4th of May in Rome.

The Bank also promotes the 2012 edition of the “Nastri d’Argento“ (Silver Ribbons) cinematographic award presented by the SNGCI (National Union of Italian Film Journalists). BNL has always been committed to the development of new cultural initiatives and alternative forms of communication. Over the years it has been the title sponsor of the Toarmina festival – Taormina BNL FilmFest (2002-2005); the official sponsor of the Venice International Film Festival (1999-2001), which it has continued to back with its contribution to the “Giornate degli Autori” – Venice Days and the International Film Critics’ Week; sponsor of Capri, Hollywood – The International Film Festival (in 2004, 2007 and 2008), and lastly of Ischia Global Film & Music Fest (2010, 2011).

Therefore BNL has established and consolidated strong ties with the world of cinema over the years, actively contributing to the development of Italian cultural life. It has paved the way for new, innovative projects with a significant impact on social conduct and consumer trends, allowing the cinematographic industry to accompany the evolution of society and in some cases even anticipate developments that have still to come.

For the fourth consecutive year, BNL Group BNP Paribas is the institutional partner of the “David di Donatello” Award scheme now in its 56th edition.

It will be present at the awards ceremony scheduled for 4th May in the ‘Auditorium della Conciliazione’ in Rome.  During the ceremony, as in previous years, BNL President Luigi Abete will present the special David Giovanni award, which is judged by a jury from all over Italy made up of over six thousand Italian high school students.

Furthermore, during the 2011-2012 film season, BNL has been particularly active in developing the work of the Italian Cinema Academy and the David di Donatello organization, with initiatives that included screening the films under review in its own cinema in Piazza Albania, Rome.

This initiative allows the Bank to further strengthen its commitment to the world of cinema and the cinematographic industry, in backing an important event that has been rewarding excellence in Italian and International cinema for more than 50 years.

In fact, BNL is the reference bank for the cinema world, providing its own funds as well as state funds, as financial backing for the entire cinematographic process. This ranges from concept to realisation, distribution and consumption of films, the introduction of innovative technologies and the physical restructuring of the cinemas themselves.  This commitment has allowed us to make over 5.000 films over the years, many of which have become part of Italian cinema history gaining important international recognition. BNL also supports the cinematographic industry by providing assistance in the form of economic advantages, such as tax credits.  The Bank’s investment policy favours the diversification of funds across many productions, with the aim of promoting the distribution of Italian cinema, both in a domestic level, as well as in foreign markets.

The Bank has been the main partner of the Rome International Film Festival since 2006, in an event that continues to find favour with the public, year after year.  Furthermore, BNL contributes to the enhancement of the Italian Cinema Academy – David di Donatello Awards – by participating as an Institutional partner for the fourth year running. This year the awards ceremony will be held on the 4th of May in Rome.

The Bank also promotes the 2012 edition of the “Nastri d’Argento” (Silver Ribbons) cinematographic award presented by the SNGCI (National Union of Italian Film Journalists). BNL has always been committed to the development of new cultural initiatives and alternative forms of communication. Over the years it has been the title sponsor of the Toarmina festival – Taormina BNL FilmFest (2002-2005); the official sponsor of the Venice International Film Festival (1999-2001), which it has continued to back with its contribution to the “Giornate degli Autori” – Venice Days and the International Film Critics’ Week; sponsor of Capri, Hollywood – The International Film Festival (in 2004, 2007 and 2008), and lastly of Ischia Global Film & Music Fest (2010, 2011).

Therefore BNL has established and consolidated strong ties with the world of cinema over the years, actively contributing to the development of Italian cultural life. It has paved the way for new, innovative projects with a significant impact on social conduct and consumer trends, allowing the cinematographic industry to accompany the evolution of society and in some cases even anticipate developments that have still to come.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management has jumped from 14th to 4th ranking with close to EUR1.6 bn invested in 2011 versus EUR664 m in 2010.