BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank by market capitalisation, posted first-quarter profits well ahead of forecasts, helped by higher earnings at its retail and investment banking operations. Net profit fell 21 percent from last year to 1.56 billion euros ($2.1 billion).
However, the result showed a recovery from BNP's fourth-quarter net loss of 1.37 billion euros and beat an average Reuters forecast for a net profit of 784 million euros. Pretax profit at BNP's corporate and investment banking division rose nearly four times from last year to 1.23 billion euros, driven by a strong performance at the bank's fixed income division.
BNP Paribas Chief Executive Baudouin Prot told BFM radio station that the economic recession would lead to more writedowns in the near future and that the British and American banks had not yet fully recovered from the credit crisis.
BNP got a boost last month when it won shareholder approval to buy some of the main assets of struggling European bank Fortis, following a protracted battle with retail investors who were opposed to the deal.
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