BNP Paribas announced a net income (group share) of €10.19bn, a new record. Net banking income (NBI) rose by 9% to €50.419bn, while operating expenses increased by only 8.3% to €33.702bn. Gross operating income came to €16.717bn (+10.5%).

BNP Paribas has benefited from the rise in interest rates, which has certainly increased the cost of financial resources, but has generated much more interest income--without suffering from the worries linked to the economic evolution.

Encouraged by these results, the bank has decided to raise its objectives for the period 2022-2025 with a reversed growth of the GNP (group net profits) of 9%, a return on equity of 12% and savings that will reach €2.3bn by 2025.

Pampered shareholders

Shareholders will benefit from these very good results too: on a profit per share of €7.80, they will receive a net dividend of €3.90.

The Luxembourg State currently holds 12,874,512 shares, i.e. 1.043% of the banking group's capital. It will therefore receive €50,210,596.8. That is almost €5m more than in 2022.

The State shareholder will also benefit from the share buyback programme announced by BNP Paribas. This programme will have a value of €5bn and will be carried out in two equal tranches. Mechanically, the value of Luxembourg’s shareholding will increase.

At 31 December, BNP Paribas shares were valued at €53,250, which valued the holding at €685.567m.

Strong growth in Luxembourg business

The State should also receive dividends from its 34.002% stake in BGL BNP Paribas, the group’s Luxembourg branch.

The activity of the Banque commerciale au Luxembourg (BCEL) was “very good.” After allocating one-third of the profit of the private bank in Luxembourg to the wealth management business, BCEL’s pre-tax profit rose by 43.7% compared to 2021 to reach €216m. Net banking income rose by 11.2% compared to 2021 to €415m for a gross operating income of €200m (+2.4%).

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.