(Boursier.com) – BNP Paribas remains sought after following the announcement of the sale of its retail banking activities in the United States to the Bank of Montreal. The title of the establishment of Boulevard des Italiens jumped 4% to 58.75 euros, in the first positions of the CAC40. The sale of Bank of the West for 16.3 billion dollars will provide BNP Paribas with a real war chest to continue its development and possibly make a big acquisition in Europe.
A possibility that does not yet appear to be relevant, however … The Group has already indicated that it intends to return part of the proceeds from the sale to its shareholders via an extraordinary distribution in the form of share buybacks in order to compensate for the expected dilution of net earnings per share. BNP Paribas also intends to redeploy capital, “gradually and in a very disciplined manner, with the aim of improving long-term value creation by accelerating organic growth, particularly in Europe, targeted investments in innovative technologies and models, and targeted acquisitions in value-added activities “.
More insurance?
Concretely, the bank could strengthen itself in insurance … Based on conversations with investment bankers and experts who follow the sector, ‘Bloomberg’ emphasizes that the vast distribution network of the lender could allow it to develop its insurance operations. Such an approach would further diversify the group of its investment banking activities and provide it with a source of recurring income which would also help strengthen its asset management activity. After strengthening its position in prime brokerage activities over the past few months, BNP could also expand in the global custody business, particularly in the United States.
On a larger scale, the buyout of Commerzbank is an old sea serpent in the trading rooms. Although cross-border transactions are notoriously difficult to execute in the financial arena, Germany’s growing support for a banking union on the Old Continent could eventually make such an operation feasible. A merger with Société Générale also remains a possibility for certain specialists.
The group will undoubtedly provide some answers to these questions during the presentation of its main strategic axes during an ‘Investors Day’ scheduled for March 14, 2022. In the meantime, among the latest brokers’ opinions, Kepler Cheuvreux has returned to the purchase on BNP Paribas aiming for a price of 65.3 euros. Oddo BHF, for its part, revalued the file from 67 to 71 euros with an opinion to ‘outperform’.
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