Net profits at France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas, more than doubled in the third quarter as the bank continued to reduce its exposure to eurozone sovereign debt. Net income rose to 1.3 billion euros (1.66 billion dollars) from 541 million euros in the same period in 2011, when BNP and other French banks were rapped by markets for their exposure to Greece's public debt.
Corporate and investment banking revenues were up 33 per cent to 2.3 billion euros. BNP also announced that it had reached international targets on financial solidity, ahead of time. The bank had 9.5 per cent of top quality Tier 1 capital by the end of September, surpassing an international so-called Basel III target of 9 per cent.