The BNP Paribas logo in Paris
BNP Paribas said on Wednesday it would increase its cost-cutting efforts by 400 million euros after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter results.
Over the period 2022-2025, the bank therefore sets itself the objective of reducing its costs by 2.7 billion euros.
Automation, a reduction in purchases, better management of premises and more “mutualization” of tasks between outsourced employees will make it possible to achieve these 400 million euros in savings, according to the slides of a presentation that BNP Paribas will make during a Morgan Stanley conference.
The year 2024 promises to be poor for banks, which are preparing for a drop in the volume of operations, fewer bonuses and job cuts. Societe Generale said earlier this year that 900 jobs will be cut at its Paris headquarters.
BNP Paribas also announced that it would pay its shareholders around 20 billion euros over the period 2024-2026, a payout ratio of around 60%.
Furthermore, the bank confirmed on Wednesday that its net profit will be higher this year than in 2023, and added that the return on unrevalued tangible equity (ROTE) will be in the range of 11.5% and 12% in 2025 and will then reach 12% in 2026.
BNP Paribas gained 2.66% at 09:55 GMT, while the CAC 40 nibbled 0.19% at the same time.
(Written by Inti Landauro, Mathieu Rosemain, French version Lina Golovnya, Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)