Islamabad, 2 June, 2025: NBP Closes Paris operations as part of a broader international restructuring strategy, with the National Bank of Pakistan finalizing the shutdown of its long-running branch in the French capital.
According to the bank’s latest annual report, this closure marks a significant shift in its foreign footprint. The Paris branch, which had served the Pakistani diplomatic community and expatriates for nearly five decades, was permanently shut due to unsustainable financial losses.
Client accounts, including those of Pakistan’s embassy in France, have since been transferred to a local French bank. Regulatory and legal procedures were concluded before the branch was formally decommissioned.
Simultaneously, the state-owned lender also wound down its New York office, the only Pakistani banking presence on Wall Street. The decision followed a comprehensive exit process that complied with all applicable US regulations.
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The New York branch of NBP had been under regulatory observation since 2015, following multiple audits that raised red flags about inadequate compliance measures, especially those concerning anti-money laundering protocols.
Despite managerial reshuffles and attempts at reform, US regulators remained dissatisfied with the bank’s pace of corrective actions.
In 2022, the Federal Reserve and New York State Department of Financial Services jointly imposed a $55 million penalty on the bank.
Although no illegal activity or deliberate misconduct was discovered, authorities cited long-standing structural weaknesses in the branch’s compliance systems.
The bank later received acknowledgment for enhancing its internal controls. By late 2024, the Federal Reserve lifted two critical enforcement orders, signaling improved governance.
Nonetheless, the NBP Board opted to voluntarily relinquish the New York branch license, bringing an end to over 60 years of operations in the US. By the end of 2024, the branch’s asset base had exceeded $110 million.
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Following the decision where NBP Closes Paris, the bank now eyes a further contraction of its overseas network. Closure plans are underway for three additional locations in Central Asia Almaty (Kazakhstan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), and Baku (Azerbaijan). If completed, the bank’s global branch presence would reduce from 23 to 16 locations.
Bank officials described these steps as part of a cost-efficiency drive aimed at shedding underperforming international units.
As NBP Closes Paris, industry analysts view the move as reflective of broader changes within Pakistan’s foreign banking operations, which now face increasing regulatory pressures and tightening profit margins abroad.
