BNP Paribas profits climb as trading surge offsets leasing slump

The bank’s Corporate & Institutional Banking division served as the primary engine for this growth, reporting a 16.6 percent revenue increase to 5.20 billion euros. Within this unit, equity trading and prime brokerage activities surged by 50 percent to 1.46 billion euros. CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé attributed the success to a strong operating performance across all three core business divisions, bolstered by the integration of AXA Investment Managers, which helped push assets under management to 2.55 trillion euros.

Contrasting these gains, the car leasing business faced significant headwinds, with revenue at Arval and Leasing Solutions dropping 29.1 percent due to depressed used-car prices. Furthermore, retail and corporate banking saw pre-tax profit dip 6.5 percent to 2.04 billion euros, impacted by rising loan-loss provisions. Despite these localized pressures, the group remains confident, announcing a 1.3 billion euro share buyback program approved by the European Central Bank. The bank anticipates its common equity Tier 1 ratio will climb back above 13 percent by the end of the year.