PARIS (Reuters) -BNP ParibasPA> made no provisions for Sudan-related litigation in its upcoming third-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Lars Machenil said on Tuesday as the bank sought to dispel concerns it could be exposed to further legal claims.
The federal jury in Manhattan, on Friday, ordered the French bank 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.
The lender's shares tumbled
sharply on Monday as investors and traders tried to assess the implications. Its stock was last down 2% on Tuesday, weaker than where it traded before the CFO spoke and weaker than the wider market..
Machenil said BNP had not set aside any funds to pay out such claims.
"BNP Paribas did not book a provision in the third quarter 2025," Machenil said in a call with analysts. "We consider the verdict to be erroneous and likely to be overturned."
The bank will release its third-quarter results on October 28.
Machenil also downplayed the risks of class action, saying it was a "case by case" situation.
"This is neither a regulatory fine nor a criminal penalty, but a private legal dispute. The verdict concerns only three plaintiffs, and it does not set a precedent for similar cases," Machenil said.
He added that the judge had said any individual compensation claims related to the Sudan case would require separate trials, and that Swiss civil law - which applies since the transactions were carried out from Geneva - does not recognise the type of liability alleged.
Lawyers for the three plaintiffs, who now reside in the United States, said on Friday the verdict opens the door for more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees in the U.S. to seek billions of dollars in damages from the French bank.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Jakob Van Calster in Gdansk; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)
