By 1928, it had become a large regional bank extending its operations to the neighbouring areas of Belgium and France.
In the 1960s, BGL became a key player in international financial services with cross-border transactions accounting for an increasing share of its operations.
In the late 1970s, it entered the Eurobond market, opening offices in Milan, Hong Kong and Frankfurt and establishing Banque Générale du Luxembourg (Suisse) in Zurich in 1982.
Comparisons with the same period in 2010 were however difficult to make, given the integration of the bank into the BNP Paribas group.
As of 1 January 2011, BGL BNP Paribas is Luxembourg's second-largest employer with 4,110 staff, behind ArcelorMittal with 6,070.