BNP Paribas chief operating officer decides to step down

The chief operating officer of BNP Paribas is to step down at the end of June and retire on September 30, France's biggest bank said as it wrestles with US authorities over a potential US$10 billion fine.

BNP Paribas did not mention the investigation in its announcement. It said the departure of Georges Chodron de Courcel was at his own request and would allow him to comply with new French bank regulations on the number of directorships he can hold.

New York's banking regulator had requested the departure of Chodron de Courcel as part of a settlement for alleged violations of sanctions against Iran, Sudan and other countries, a person familiar with the matter said.

Chodron de Courcel is one of the bank's three most senior managers under chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe and has direct responsibility for the investment banking activities that are at the centre of the investigation.

A spokeswoman for the bank said he had planned to retire this year anyway and would not comment further on the US proceedings. A source familiar with the matter said last week the bank was not considering executive departures in connection with the negotiations.

The bank said Chodron de Courcel had "devoted his entire 42-year career to BNP and then BNP Paribas, and has made a decisive contribution to the group's development, and especially to the project which eventually led to the creation of the new BNP Paribas entity".