PARIS (Reuters) -BNP ParibasPA>,the euro zone’s biggest lender, and French rival BPCE said on Thursday they have finalized an agreement to create a Estreem, a joint venture in the payment processing, with the ambition to become one of the top three European players in the sector.
The new company, which will be jointly owned by the two banks, will process all card payments for BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE in Europe, amounting to 17 billion transactions per year, positioning Estreem as the French leader in processing with 30% of card payments volume in France, the statement said.
Estreem will employ more than 300 people.
(Reporting by Dominique VidalonEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
