Greek writedowns and
restructuring costs have contributed to a 22.9% fall in BNP
Paribas’ (BNPP) full year net income to €6.05bn
($7.95bn).
The largest bank in the
Eurozone by assets said that it has made provisions of 75% of its
Greek bond exposure.
Total group revenue
slipped by 3.4% to €42.38bn; total assets also fell slightly, by
1.7% to €1.97trn.
BNPP’s cost-income ratio
increased by 120 basis points to 61.6% in fiscal 2011.
For the 12 months to 31
December, BNPP posted a resilient set of retail banking
results.
Retail banking
highlights included:
- French retail banking reported a 12.5%
increase in pre-tax profit to €1.96bn. Retail deposits increased by
8.4% year-on-year boosted by sharp growth (+10.6%) in retail
savings accounts. Channel highlights included growth in internet
customer numbers to 2.4m. Over 16,000 customers signed up for the
online bank Net Agence while BNPP also launched its mobile banking
service in 2011; - BNPP’s Italy based retail unit, BNL,
reported a pre-tax profit of €502m, up 16.2%; - In Benelux, retail pre-tax income rose by
18.9% to €819m; - In the US, the retail-focused BancWest
reported pre-tax profit of €691m, up by 26.7%, and - Pre-tax profit soared by 33.9% to €1.19bn
at BNPP’s Personal Finance division.
BNPP is pressing ahead
with the launch in France of a new service to target the mass
affluent segment: BNP Paribas Priority Banking as part of its
Retail Banking 2012 Action Plan.
In Italy, BNPP will roll
out the Cetelem Bank model via Findomestic Banca, with the aim of
improving customer relations and increasing retail
deposits.
CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé
said:
“In 2011, in an economic
and regulatory environment undergoing radical changes, the group
had solid operating performances, in particular in retail
banking.
“Plans to reduce funding
needs and the size of the balance sheet have been put into action
very quickly.”