COUNTERPARTY FILE · last re-checked 2026-09
BNP Paribas FX (Global Markets) — institutional liquidity provider
This record reflects the current status of BNP Paribas FX, emphasizing transparency and performance claims.
Licence, read literally
| Regulator | Licence number | Jurisdiction | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACPR (ECB lead supervisor) | not verified | France | tier-1 | open source ↗ |
| FCA (BNP Paribas London Branch) | not verified | UK | tier-1 | open source ↗ |
| SEC/FINRA (BrokerCheck, BNP Paribas Securities Corp.) | 8-32682 | US | tier-1 | open source ↗ |
Tier classification follows the same scale as the retail register: tier-2 means real supervision and client-money segregation, without an investor compensation scheme — never misread it as tier-1 protection.
Residuals a counterparty carries
Unpublished banking licence numbers
BNP Paribas' ACPR licence number is not published, raising transparency concerns.
Source: firm disclosures page
Self-measured performance claims
BNP Paribas claims to be a global leader in FX, but these claims are self-measured and unverified.
Source: self-measured
The claims ledger
Claims specific enough to be falsified — and the ones that remain the venue's own measurement.
Testable claims
- Global FX leader across 75+ currency pairs and derivatives products (usa.bnpparibas Global Markets page)
- Cortex FX is BNP Paribas' advanced multi-product forex trading platform (bnpparibas.bank.in global-markets page)
- BNP Paribas London Branch is registered in the UK under number FC13447, UK establishment BR000170 (securities.cib.bnpparibas legal-information page)
Claims we cannot verify from outside
- 'global leader in FX' rank/positioning (self-measured)
- AI e-trading platform performance claims (self-measured)
- Automated FX 61-currency scope reported by marketsmedia citing BNP Paribas — media-sourced, treated as unverified
Perimeter and coverage
| Asset classes | Venues | Connectivity | Clients accepted | Explicitly refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FX spot, FX forwards, FX swaps, NDFs, FX options, FX derivatives | CME FX, EBS, Reuters, CLS | FIX, REST/API (BNP Paribas Markets API), Cortex FX platform | Corporates, Financial institutions, Asset managers, Banks | Retail clients |
A firm that publishes its own negative space — who it refuses, where it is not licensed — is materially easier to diligence than one that doesn't. The refusal list is treated here as disclosure, not as a defect.