BNP Paribas Q3 Net Income Rises 13.5% to €3.46 Billion on 50% Equities Trading Surge, Plans €1.3 Billion Buyback

BNP Paribas reported third-quarter net income of €3.46 billion on Wednesday, up 13.5% from a year earlier and ahead of the €3.23 billion analyst consensus. The French lender said it will buy back €1.3 billion of its own shares from November, approved by the European Central Bank, while downplaying its exposure to France's fiscal crisis. A 50% jump in equities trading revenue drove the beat. Revenue rose 9.5% to €13.76 billion, led by corporate and institutional banking, where revenue climbed 16.6% to €5.2 billion. Global markets revenue jumped 21.9% to €2.67 billion, while equity and prime services brought in €1.46 billion. Fixed income, currencies and commodities trading was flat at €1.22 billion. BNP said it held around €19 billion of French government bonds, about €16 billion booked at amortized cost. It estimated a further 0.5% widening in the French-German bond yield spread would trim its CET1 ratio by only about 0.02 points. The CET1 ratio stood at 12.9% at the end of September. Shares traded about 1.5% lower at the open in Paris on Wednesday.