BNP Paribas reported a 33.2% decline in its net income attributable to equity holders at €1.28bn in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) compared to €1.91bn it made in the same quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019).
The French banking group’s net income attributable to equity holders in Q4 2019 was €1.85bn.
The bank has blamed the lower net income in the first quarter of 2020 on the unprecedented health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It had kept aside €502m in provisions for expected losses because of the viral outbreak.
BNP Paribas’ revenues for Q1 2020 were down by 2.3% at €10.88bn compared to the same quarter in the previous year, which stood at €11.14bn.
The operating expenses of the banking group in Q1 2020 was brought down by 3.5% at €8.15bn.
The French banking group said that its revenues in the operating divisions went down by 3.1% at €10.76bn in the first quarter of 2020 compared to Q1 2019.
For the domestic markets division, the revenues for Q1 2020 came down 1.6% to €3.75bn compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
For the international financial services unit, the first-quarter revenue dropped by 5.4% to €4.05bn, while the CIB division saw a 1.9% reduction in revenue at €2.95bn, compared to the first quarter of 2019.
BNP Paribas CEO comments on Q1 2020 results
BNP Paribas CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé said: “At the end of a quarter supported by an excellent business drive, in line with its 2020 objectives, the results of BNP Paribas for the 1st quarter 2020 were impacted by the harshness of the health crisis. The good resilience of revenues and results despite this shock demonstrates the robustness of the Group’s diversified and integrated model.
“With all teams at BNP Paribas, whose I want to thank tireless commitment to serving customers and providing support to society, we will continue our efforts to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the economy and prepare for the future.”