Baudouin Prot is much to this distinction

Fred Goodwin, Stanley O'Neal, Dick Fuld... The storm that swept the financial world the past two years took a number of leading bankers. She has also dedicated the "vista" of some financial, as Emilio Botin, the pattern of Santander, or Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase, and confirmed the reputation of others. Baudouin Prot belongs to the latter category. In the upper room of the French Bank leaders largely renewed since the beginning of the crisis, he now occupies a place of choice. BNP Paribas has just across the financial crisis of the century without too many glitches. "With Goldman Sachs, our investment bank is the only one staying positive over the period," he notes with pride. His group has even before flying the chance to win a large part of Fortis, the Belgian leader of the Bank and insurance, becoming the first passage bank deposit in the euro area. At the age of fifty-eight, the Director General of BNP Paribas won in the storm its last stripes of large banker, outgoing of the tutelary shadow of its President, Michel Pébereau.

The man about to take the Presidency of the French Banking Federation (FBF) for one year is however modest. "I do not much grows big head", to forward to clarify. In his Office in the street of Antin soberly decorated, no sign of conspicuous, if this is the statuette of banker of the year awarded in November by the magazine "The Banker". Only sin of pride: he communicate many times per day the evolution of the course of BNP Paribas stock exchange. A mirror in which he can look at the performance of the action of the institution, far superior to those of its rivals in recent months. But Baudouin Prot does not have much to do with the cartoon of the safe banker and donor of lessons. No arrogance in his judgments or his attitude. In the course of the conversation, he regularly seeks the few lines that he has scribbled hastily to be sure not to forget anything, or relies on the "slides" which it provided, for example.

Unpopularity ""inevitable. "

At a time where the profession should attempt to reconquer the opinion to erase the traces of the financial crisis, it is the "ideal banker", as it looks like the ideal son-in-law. The route almost without fault of the Bank, except for a hole of air passenger in December, also supports him. The unpopularity of the bankers It includes: "when 50 of the finance industry is on the ground in the United States and Britain, the phenomenon of assimilation is inevitable."This is why it is not planning to launch a major campaign to restore the image of the Bank in France. "This would not change anything in the immediate future, it is more important to show the duration we serve our customers well."The fact that French banks would probably not take their commitment to growth of the outstanding credit of 3 to 4 on the year The fault to a failed request. "But we will do much better than everywhere elsewhere in Europe", provides. Because French institutions, starting with BNP Paribas, remained on the sidelines of the excesses committed by their rivals in terms of creativity to pay.

Baudouin Prot is much to this distinction. The question of the nature of State aid provided in recent months to the banking sector throughout Europe is one of his fancies. Always equal mood in his meetings with the press, he taps the point on the table when addressing this topic. Brandishing an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal among all the articles that he eats every day and it highlights conscientiously, it deplored the systematic amalgam that is made between the aid granted to the United Kingdom and Germany - of the "lost" aid - and those of the French Government. "The help of the French State is a passenger support to the economy via banks and not a bailout of the banks." That person is wrong of "s"; between support and rescue. This is why also BNP Paribas wishes to start to repay the 5 billion lent by the State as soon as the Economic Outlook will allow, no doubt from early 2010. .

Return of the bonus, but "capped".

In this context of crisis, Baudouin Prot will find two folders on the Office of President of the FBF. One, still very thorny compensation, first. A subject on which his predecessor, Georges Pauget, the DG of Credit Agricole, had stumbled because such an announcement not concerted BNP Paribas. On the street of Antin, it already had a religion on the subject. If growth in profits is the appointment, the Bank will award bonuses again to its leaders as early as 2009. But bonus now capped. The establishment wants close parenthesis of 2008, which saw patterns of banks waived their bonus under the pressure of the Elysee Palace. At the same time, he will return to the new President of the FBF to work to ensure that the new regulation of the banking sector not handicapped person French institutions. A subject on which he has set two objectives: avoid that a too important bearing of the own funds requirements limit the ability of credit distribution and ensure that American and European constraints banks are equivalent.

But, for Baudouin Prot, no regulation, as may be, can replace the quality of management. "This crisis will have shown that today ' today it is very important to be an experienced professional to lead a bank.".Experienced, the new boss of the FBF considers to be. Entered in BNP Paribas twenty-six years ago, he had the opportunity to carry out "a few campaigns", according to the expression he likes to discuss the restructuring of Euro Disney or the core defence record in the 1990s, and, more recently, the rescue of Alstom in 2003, while he had just been appointed Director-General. "I lived the beautiful period for the years 2003 to 2007, where he should not do anything for acquisition." Where needed to keep a cool head to the euphoria which surrounded the credit. And then I experienced the years of crisis. "It is therefore leader that Baudouin Prot not hesitate to ask today to explain the journey. Leader Yes, but a team. "I do so that each of the members of the Comex enjoys a strong delegation, but that at the same time all the decisions are shared and discussed under my authority, he says." Therefore, the Bank is managed operationally. "It is in this logic of teamwork that it registered the couple that he formed with Michel Pébereau. "Our mode of two-headed governance has been an additional asset in the crisis," he said soberly.

Fortis, a deal "exceptional".

In the coming twelve months, Baudouin Prot should share his time between the FBF - probably from 10 to 20 of its planning - and his bank. There is no doubt that he will keep a watchful eye on the integration of Fortis. A file on which it has been much involved personally. And if it does not put the beer, he went to learn Dutch, as he had learned the Italian after the acquisition of BNL. Two operations drum beating with the mobilization of all the management, but very different profiles. The first was carried out in a week, in 2006, "in good weather." The second started in full collapse of the markets, two weeks after the bankruptcy of Lehman. In total, this "campaign" of Belgium lasted seven months, requiring the total mobilization of all. But he is convinced: Fortis is an industrially exceptional deal for BNP Paribas. This is why the group effort despite the multiple twists and turns of the "queen" operation, become a politico-legal-financial drama.

Result, Baudouin Prot is today at the head of a pan-European banking group without much equivalent. As to the perspective to make new acquisitions in a dedicated area to redial, he prefers to avoid: "There will be well." You know, six years that I am in the branch, one of the best cases I've done, there are also those that I have not made. "A maxim that does not apply to Société Générale, the intimate enemy, for which the Group had expressed a renewed interest after the Kerviel case. "But the conditions were never met," tranche Baudouin Prot.