BNP Paribas SA is entering in exclusive talks with Orange SA to take on its Orange Bank clients, letting the French mobile phone carrier walk away from the business.
Orange will work with the French lender on conditions for on-boarding its 2 million banking clients in Europe, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday. The partnership is part of Orange’s plan to progressively withdraw Orange Bank from the retail banking market in France and Spain, according to the statement. The Paris-based company said it’s leaving its financial guidance for 2023 unchanged.
Orange has been looking for partners for the unprofitable banking business, which has racked up total losses of more than €800 million ($873 million) since the company started offering the service at the end of 2017. Chief Executive Officer Christel Heydemann announced a new strategic plan for the phone company earlier this year that involves investing in its core telecom business, boosting growth in Africa and restructuring its flagging enterprise unit with a focus on cybersecurity.
Orange’s goal had been to reach break even in the banking unit by the beginning of 2026.
The company had initially looked for a financial partner for the unit. US-based investment firm Ripplewood Advisors LLC and Cerberus Capital Management had considered offers for the business, people familiar with the matter said previously.
Read More: Ripplewood Said to Consider Bid for Orange’s Banking Arm
The deal is similar to the one Societe Generale SA’s digital bank, Boursorama, reached with ING Groep NV last year, which allowed the Dutch lender to exit the French retail market as part of its broader strategy to pull out from non-core European countries.
(Updates to add detail on withdrawal from France and Spain. A previous version of this story was corrected to remove line on Orange bank employees expected to be offered new jobs at BNP.)
