BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank by assets, has announced a 1,600 Ukraine staff reduction by 2015 as part of its European and overseas restructuring strategy.
"Over the past few years we have had to adapt to the tough Ukrainian economic environment," said Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, BNP chief executive.
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International banks exposed to Eastern Europe have been in the spotlight since Moscow formally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea last week, triggering US and EU visa bans and asset freezes against a group of Russian officials.
According to the Bank for International Settlements, French financial institutions have the overall biggest exposure to Russia.
BNP owns a minority stake in a consumer-finance joint venture with Russia’s Sberbank and also owns Ukrainian lender UkrSibbank, while Société Générale owns Russia’s Rosbank.
Bonnafé said that BNP would comply with sanctions on Russia and distance itself from "a number of" counterparties.
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By GlobalDataHowever, the bank announced it still plans to increase its exposure to Central and Eastern Europe – with the pending acquisition of Polish bank BGZ – as well as to North America and Asia.
Bonnafé said that BNP’s new strategy would deliver a double-digit percentage rise in overall earnings over the next three years, an increased dividend payout and an improved return on equity (ROE) of 10% by 2016.
In comparison, BNP’s rival Société Générale said it expected to reach 10% ROE a year earlier, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank planned at least 12% ROE in 2015.
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