The French banking giant BNP Paribas announced on Thursday a net profit down slightly year-on-year in the third quarter, led by consumer credit, in the midst of restructuring, market activities and to a lesser extent retail banking in France.
At 2.66 billion euros, the net profit for the third quarter was 4% lower than in the third quarter of 2022and is also down compared to the 2.8 billion euros earned by the group in the second quarter of 2023.
However, it is in line with the expectations of analysts interviewed by the data provider Factset and the financial agency Bloomberg. The net banking product (NBI), equivalent to turnover for the sector, increases by 4% over one year, 11.58 billion euros.
Consumer credit in difficulty
The consumer credit subsidiary BNP Personal Finance, in the midst of restructuring with nearly one in five positions cut in France, does not contribute that amounted to 197 million euros in profit before taxes (-42.1% over one year) between July and September. Known for its Cetelem brand, it also represents more than half of the 734 million euros provisioned by the bank for the cost of risk, these sums set aside to deal with possible unpaid amounts on loans granted.
Personal Finance benefits in its branch bringing together commercial banks and specialized businesses from the good health of automobile leasing, marketed under the Arval brand, and retail banks in Italy and Belgium, whose pre-tax profit increased by around 16%unlike France (-19.7%)
Market activity, particularly that of trading raw materials, suffers from a comparison effect with the more active third quarter of 2022 and therefore generates more commissions. He is compensated within the financing and investment bank by the good performance of the major client bank and the custody of securities.
Finally, the insurance profit before taxes (+22.2% to 411 million euros), driven by the collection in units of account, partly compensates for the lower contribution of asset management in real estate-related businesses. The group’s good performance in the third quarter testifies to the solidity of our model, welcomed the general director Jean-Laurent Bonnaf, quoted in a press release.
The leading French and European bank is approaching its record from last year 3 months early. Since January, its profit has already amounted to 9.9 billion euros (+28.5%).
Reproduction forbidden.