Looking back on the eabh annual conference on June 12 and 13, 2025

Knowing its history, a powerful lever for building a more resilient future

The first day was opened by Elise Hermant, Director of Communication at BNP Paribas, who recalled the importance of archives and history for a group like BNP Paribas. Edouard Vasseur, professor at the Ecole nationale des Chartes, chief curator of heritage, and doctor of history, introduced this first session, highlighting the contributions of artificial intelligence to historical and archival fields. The conferences and interventions were an opportunity to explore the question of banking objects in archives, their status, preservation, and heritage dimension. The project of collecting oral archives led by the History, Society, and Prospectives department of BNP Paribas to better know and document the collection of banking machines and objects gave rise to an intervention. During the closing evening of this first day, participants were welcomed at the Monnaie de Paris and heard various interventions, including one by Antoine Sire, Advisor for Impact Economy and Social Inclusion at BNP Paribas.

The second day, opened by Vincent Sussfeld (Deputy General Manager of BNP Paribas Personal Finance), allowed for discussion on the topic of debt and payments, through the perspective of historians and economists, with various cases presented, from the evolution of public debt in the euro zone to the dynamics of debt in France from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. After an intervention by Jacques de Larosière (former Governor of the Banque de France) summarizing the challenges attached to the issue of debt, a round table discussion closed the event. The speakers, including Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions & Factoring at BNP Paribas, attempted to answer various questions. As the digitalization of payment methods accelerates and the use of cash declines, it is legitimate to wonder about the future of cash and tomorrow’s payment methods.

The eabh and BNP Paribas, a long-standing partnership

The eabh is a European organization that aims to promote research on banking, financial, and economic history. Founded in 1990, the association brings together financial institutions, academics, and researchers, as well as archivists specializing in the preservation of financial and economic documents.

BNP Paribas is a founding member of the eabh and the Group is today present on the Board of Patrons and the Academic Council. Thanks to the History, Society, and Prospectives department within the Group Communication, BNP Paribas collects and protects 200 years of banking history, which constitutes the raw material for these reflections and interventions. These historical archives help to better illuminate current and future economic challenges.