BNP Paribas to Retain Sensitive Data Off Public Cloud Despite Google Partnership
By Leo Marchandon
BNP Paribas' Cloud Strategy and Google Partnership
Overview of the Five-Year Agreement
Sept 24 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas will keep some sensitive customer data and critical operations off public cloud infrastructure even after signing a five-year cloud and AI partnership with Google, the French bank said on Thursday.
The agreement gives BNP access to Google public-cloud infrastructure and Gemini models as the bank develops AI agents for internal work including corporate credit memos, sales, trading, research and structuring.
Limitations and Data Security Measures
Maintaining On-Premise Infrastructure
But the deal does not mark a wholesale move, BNP Group Chief Information Officer Marc Camus told reporters in a call.
"The fact that we signed this agreement with Google doesn't mean that we will get rid of our on-premise infrastructure," he said.
Handling Highly Confidential Data
Medical information held by its insurance operations was an example of highly confidential data for which BNP avoids public-cloud solutions, he said.
BNP Paribas’ Multi-Provider Approach
Open-Source and Local Partnerships
BNP plans to keep using open-source models and to maintain its partnership with French AI company Mistral, with the providers used for different applications.
Use Cases for Google Technology
The bank said it sees scope to use Google technology for less sensitive work such as invoice processing and data management.
Data Ownership and Security Protocols
Google’s Commitment to Data Ownership
Google said BNP would retain ownership of its data, which would not be used to train, tune or refine its models. The bank said Google's AI agents would be authenticated, limited to the resources needed for their tasks, and monitored.
Financial Details and Reporting
Deal Value and Disclosure
BNP and Google declined to disclose the deal's value.
Reporting and Editorial Credits
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
