BNP Paribas shares fall after US jury’s Sudan verdict

After a jury in the United States determined that the French bank had provided banking services that violated American sanctions, BNP Paribas shares dropped as much as 10%, posing questions about whether the lender will be subject to additional legal claims.

On Monday morning in New York, the bank’s stock dropped.

Three Sudanese plaintiffs who testified about human rights violations exposed by former President Omar al-Bashir’s rule were ordered by a federal jury in Manhattan on Friday to pay a total of $20.5 million.

The bank’s Paris, France, announced that it would challenge the decision.

The business stated in a statement on Monday that “this result is clearly wrong and ignores significant evidence that the bank was not permitted to present.”

The bank’s shares were heavily affected on Monday by uncertainty regarding whether it might face additional claims or penalties, according to traders and analysts.

The shares dropped as much as 10% at one point, and they last dropped 8.7%, which is their biggest daily decline since March 2023.

More than 20, 000 Sudanese refugees living in the US could now sue the French bank for billions of dollars in damages, according to the three plaintiffs’ attorneys, who now reside in the US.

This decision, according to BNP, should not have a wider application because it applies to these three plaintiffs. Any attempt to extrapolate is wrong, just like any speculating about a potential settlement.

Analysts predict that the news will likely have an impact on the bank’s shares over the coming months.

According to analysts at RBC Capital Markets, “a lack of visibility on the potential financial impact and next legal steps, a reminder of 2014 share price performance and a capital path that leaves relatively little room for error” is likely to hang over the shares until more information is provided.”

In 2014, BNP Paribas agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay an $ 8.97 billion fine in exchange for the US’s allegations that it had allegedly transferred billions of dollars to Sudanese, Iranian, and Cuban companies.