GlobalCapital: What has driven the bank’s success in the loan market, and how do you differentiate from peers in a competitive market?
Hartman: What really differentiates us is a client-first attitude. This means delivering best-in-class execution across products and regions. The goal is to bring the breadth of the BNP Paribas platform to issuers and ensure that the technological improvements we make across asset classes can be applied to loan products to help meet client goals.
Similarly, we focus on delivering the best product for the client, whether it’s investment grade, leveraged or real assets. We don’t just focus on jumbo, cross-border, high-fee transactions. We’re equally committed to smaller deals, which is why the bank has been recognised as Best Arranger of Mid-cap Loans as well. We believe our ability to deliver the same level of effort and execution for smaller deals as we do for larger ones is a key differentiator.
Finally, we’re selective about the jurisdictions and asset classes we enter. When we commit to a market or product we aim to be best in class. This focus ensures our offerings are robust and backed by large, dedicated teams. Loans are part of BNP Paribas’ DNA, and while we’re growing our equities and M&A businesses, our financing expertise remains a cornerstone.
GlobalCapital: What are some of the recent deals that illustrate BNP Paribas’ expertise and innovation across products and platforms?
Hartman: For the MASMOVIL / Orange Spain merger we used a tailored approach that comprised loans and a private bond. The Belron transaction is another good example, which included a bank-distributed holdco loan for D’Ieteren and a recapitalisation of the Belron business in the leveraged market. We served as financial advisors to the D’Ieteren shareholders, providing an innovative, fully integrated solution that met client needs and optimised their cost of capital.
On the ESG side, we refinanced Danone which was one of the first sustainability-linked loans in the market, showing our continued commitment to supporting clients’ sustainability goals. We helped MFG access sterling liquidity in the leveraged loan market, which was a rare achievement, and we brought a couple of very complex single-B credits to market.
Finally, when it comes to innovation, we also led the syndication of the Siemens Energy Global €11bn SSL Guarantee Facility, which further proves our ability to sell transactions that break from the “plain vanilla” deal flow.
GlobalCapital: The firm was recognised not just for its role as the leading arranger of French loans, but across Western Europe as a whole. BNP Paribas was also involved in the Best UK and Irish deal and the Best Nordic deal. How does the firm approach geographic reach?
Hartman: We are the largest Western European bank, so our client relationships are broader and deeper than anyone else in Europe. What’s particularly important for us is making sure we bring our expertise across geographies to each client. We’re not running a siloed structure; rather we have a global mindset that fosters collaboration between regions. That being said, we don’t want to be in every market, but we do want to be exceptional in those markets where we’re active. A great example of our geographic reach in the UK and Ireland is our leading role on the financing for EP UK’s bid to acquire IDS. Outside of Europe, we’ve also had several breakthrough trades in the US and you’re seeing the bank climb the league tables across loans and bonds there as well.
GlobalCapital: As winner of Best Arranger of Mid-cap Loans, how does the bank tailor its approach to the goals and challenges of mid-cap firms?
Hartman: Mid-cap deals require a deep understanding of local markets and bank demand. Large-cap trades are typically easier to execute because the global capital pool is easier to access as the ancillary fee pools are larger. There’s more nuance to mid-cap transactions, partly because it takes more time and expertise to assess local liquidity. Although it often takes extra effort, if we’re going to define ourselves as a client-first firm, we can’t ignore smaller clients.
This also helps us in other ways either by providing us access to the large cap clients of tomorrow or giving valuable insight into local bank behavior which can assist the sponsor business. Although most of the sponsor business is institutionally targeted, we’ve sold deals into bank markets that were only possible because of our understanding of local bank demand across the IG and leveraged finance landscape. It’s the collaboration and interaction between our different teams that makes all of this possible.
GlobalCapital: Is there an ethos that sums up the bank’s strategy for its loan market business in the years ahead?
Hartman: At BNPP we are committed to a strategy of constant evolution. However, we don’t just want to evolve in response to changes in the market — we want to drive that evolution ourselves. Our goal is to be a catalyst for positive change that benefits our clients, investors, and the broader market. By embracing a mindset of constant evolution, we’re able to stay ahead of the curve and shape the future of the loan market, rather than just reacting to it.