...BNPP mainly operates in very stable and advanced economies, with high sovereign ratings, developed and transparent regulatory frameworks and deep financial markets, such as France (AA/Stable), the largest contributor to revenue (32% in 2018), Belgium (AA-/Stable; 11%) and the US (AAA/Stable; 10%). The bank's operations in weaker economies, such as Italy (BBB/Negative; 12% of 2018 revenue), or emerging markets (below 10%) including Turkey (BB/Negative; 2%) do not negatively affect our assessment due to their contained size as a proportion of group activities. Fitch Ratings views France as a large, diversified and wealthy economy. French GDP growth was 1.6% in 2018 according to the French statistics office INSEE, and Fitch forecasts growth of 1.4% and 1.5% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Public finances are gradually improving, but remain a rating weakness relative to the `AA' rating category. However, the country's rating benefits from the sovereign's strong financial flexibility helped...
