LONDON (Reuters) -BNP Paribas shares tumbled as much as 10% on Monday, with traders and analysts attributing the fall to a U.S. jury finding the French bank helped Sudan’s government commit genocide by providing banking services that violated American sanctions.
The federal jury in Manhattan on Friday ordered BNP Paribas to pay a combined $20.5 million to three Sudanese plaintiffs who testified about human rights abuses perpetrated under former President Omar al-Bashir’s rule.
Lawyers for the three plaintiffs, who now reside in the United States, said the verdict opens the door for over 20,000 refugees in the U.S. to seek billions of dollars in damages from the French bank.
A trader said the potential for further claims was behind Monday’s share price fall. The shares dropped as much as 10% at one point and were last down just over 7% — set for their worst day since March 2023.
BNP Paribas said in a Monday statement it intended to appeal the verdict, which it said should not lead to further claims.
“BNP Paribas reaffirms that this result is clearly wrong and ignores important evidence the bank was not permitted to introduce,” the statement said.
“Furthermore, this verdict is specific to these three plaintiffs and should not have broader application. Any attempt to extrapolate is necessarily wrong as is any speculation regarding a potential settlement,” it added.
Also weighing on the shares was S&P Global’s surprise downgrade of France’s credit rating on Friday. Societe Generale’s shares fell 1.5%.
(Reporting by Alun John, additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)
