The bank for a chaging world

Crisis and the Second World War

1945 - 1966 Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie

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publicitaire BNCI.

International expansion

The BNCI network began to expand overseas during the German occupation of France. While the conflict eliminated the possibility of growth in metropolitan France, BNCI turned to French overseas territories to set up new operations.

In 1940, a team sent to Algiers by Alfred Pose took control of a local establishment, the Banque de l'Union Nord Africaine, which subsequently became Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie Afrique. BNCI also opened offices in Brazzaville, Douala, Bangui and other cities. It launched operations in the Middle East, the French West Indies, Reunion Island and Madagascar.

Its presence outside of France was based on an innovative policy of setting up subsidiaries: in 1947, it transformed its branch office in London into a subsidiary, renaming it the British and French Bank. In 1943, it took over Crédit Foncier de Madagascar et de la Réunion, which became BNCI Océan Indien in 1954. Through these establishments, BNCI's colonial network covered all of France's overseas possessions.

To avoid losing its positions in the wake of decolonialization, BNCI adapted its network by creating joint subsidiaries, including:

  • Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (BICI), which operated in Cameroon, the Congo, Ivory Coast and Senegal,
  • Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (BMCI) in Morocco.

In 1953 BNCI proposed a new service which specialized in advising French firms in administrative procedures and in prospecting for new foreign markets. In 1958 this department became a subsidiary, Intercomi (Société pour le Développement International du Commerce et de l'Industrie).

This international growth did not deflect attention from the new domestic market and retail clientele. BNCI was innovative in the domain of customer relations. In partnership with the Banque de l'Union Parisienne, it was among the first French establishments to offer mutual funds in 1964.

In 1965, just prior to its merger with CNEP, BNCI had over one thousand offices in France. Its thirty foreign subsidiaries constituted the largest international network of any French bank.

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