BNP Paribas has announced a commitment of €50 million ($54.7 million) in support of global efforts to fight COVID-19.

The commitment includes indirect support for local hospitals and at-risk populations in more than thirty countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. The pledge includes a significant allocation to organizations in the Americas, including funding through BNP Paribas USA and its affiliate, Bank of the West. Grant recipients include Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles; NYC Health + Hospitals and the U.S. Tennis Association, in support of the hardest-hit hospitals in the New York City metro region, including Bellevue, Elmhurst, and Lincoln, as well as a new field hospital being constructed at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center; UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco; PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles; and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

The bank also is making contributions of personal protective equipment (PPE), including five hundred thousand masks donated by Bank of the West and an additional hundred thousand to be distributed across the United States; will match employee donations to charities supporting certain COVID-19 relief efforts dollar-for-dollar; has organized a virtual volunteer program for staff; and is providing additional support for its charitable partners in New York and New Jersey.

"This is an unprecedented time in modern history, which requires all of us to collectively do what we can to provide support to health institutions and communities as we battle this health crisis," said Jean-Yves Fillion, CEO of BNP Paribas USA and chair of CIB Americas. "Our donations are informed by feedback from medical experts so as to be directed to specific priorities for each country hit by the crisis where BNP Paribas has a presence. In the Americas, we are proud to be making a substantial contribution not just in monetary means, but in critical PPE as well as staff volunteering. BNP Paribas is also proactively serving its clients and business partners and will continue to do so through the crisis."