BNP Paribas, the euro zone’s largest bank, faced a 2.2% decline in group net income during Q1 2023. Despite this, the company surpassed analyst expectations of 2.4 billion euros, reporting a net income of 3.10 billion euros. Revenues for the period remained stable at 12.5 billion euros, exceeding analyst forecasts of 12.2 billion euros. Lower expenses and a strong showing in corporate banking helped offset flat or declining revenues in other areas. Notably, the cost of risk stood at 640 million euros, below the anticipated 819 million euros. BNP Paribas remains bullish about its prospects for 2024, aiming to surpass its current earnings target of 11.2 billion euros. Revenue growth of more than 2% above its 2023 distributable sales of 46.9 billion euros is expected. The bank anticipates cost-cutting measures to positively impact results from the second quarter onward. However, revenue stagnation or declines were observed within most of BNP Paribas’ business segments. Commercial and Personal Banking revenues saw a modest rise of 1% to 4.2 billion euros, although net interest margins in the French market experienced a sharp decrease. Corporate and investment banking revenue fell by 4%, while global banking revenue increased by 6.1% due to increased capital markets activities. On the other hand, fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) trading revenues underperformed significantly, plunging by 20% compared to a milder decline of around 3% for major Wall Street firms.
BNP Paribas Beats Q1 Forecasts Despite Profit Decline
