Saw this article in the Wall Street Journal a week ago, June 12– BNP Paribas Executive Chodron de Courcel to Quit Post.
Article says the chief operating officer will be leaving the bank at the end of June. He previously had been planning to retire on September 30. The announcement from the bank did not contain any reference to the investigations in the US, according to the article.
However, his name is on the list of heads demanded by New York state regulators as a part of the settlement talks. When I read the article I sensed his early departure, without acknowledging the investigation, was actually a part of the settlement talks.
Voluntary? Not.
He just decided to move his retirement up a couple months? Not likely.
It is obvious to me that the bank agreed to let him go now, in advance of any official settlement.
While researching this post, I found another article at the Journal, which would have been in the preceding days paper– BNP Tentatively Agrees to Remove Adviser.
Article says the bank has tentatively agreed to fire Vivien Levy-Garboua, who
…has served as head of compliance and internal controls for BNP in North America and currently acts as an adviser to senior bank officials.
His is another head sought by New York’s Department of Financial Services.
Based just on job description, head of compliance and internal controls in North America, sounds like he was in a key position to design the systemic efforts to evade US law. Seems to me that if he is residing in the US, he would be eminently indictable.
Leaks to the reporter say the New York regulators think the bank will let go at least a dozen senior staff. Expect more articles like the above.