European Banks Reach for the Silver Linings Playbook
The upbeat outlook from BNP Paribas is a good sign for peers reporting this week — and a counterbalance to recession fears plaguing US rivals.
An upbeat outlook from BNP Paribas augurs well for European bank earnings this week.
Photographer: Nathan Laine/BloombergEuropean bank stocks have solidly beaten their American rivals for well over two years, and the signs are that President Donald Trump’s chaotic assault on global politics and trade will continue to fuel that trend. BNP Paribas SA of France gave a surprisingly upbeat outlook as the first from the region to report quarterly earnings Thursday, raising hopes that its peers will also have good news for investors this week.
The big theme is America’s trade-war disruption should be offset by investment ramping up in Europe and corporate clients seeking new supply chains and markets to sell into. On the pure finance side, corporate treasurers are looking to diversify sources of funding and investors are considering havens away from dollar-denominated markets, which should also help Europe’s bankers.