BNP Lowers Targets After Derivatives Loss Jolts Trading Arm

Further 600 million euros of cuts to focus on investment bank
Fourth-quarter trading income shrinks 40%; equities down 70%

CFO Lars Machenil discusses the bank’s full-year earnings, revised 2020 targets and cost cuts.Source: Bloomberg

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By Fabio Benedetti Valentini

February 6, 2019 at 6:02 AM UTC

Updated on

February 6, 2019 at 10:14 AM UTC

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BNP Paribas SA cut revenue and profitability targets after the French bank was among the hardest hit by a stock market rout at the end of last year.

France’s biggest lender is planning 600 million euros ($684 million) in additional cost cuts, focusing on the investment bank that Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe had targeted as a growth driver. Income from trading shrank 40 percent in the fourth quarter, led by the worst equities performance of the large investment banks reporting so far.