BNP Paribas posts lower losses than rivals

PARIS, France (AP) -- French bank BNP Paribas said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit declined by 21 percent but again posted far lower crisis-related losses than some if its competitors.

The Paris-based bank said net profit for the quarter fell to €1.98 billion ($3.06 billion) from €2.51 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, comfortably beating analyst expectations of €1.63 billion.

BNP Paribas said it booked a net €360 million ($557 million) in credit-related write-downs during the quarter.

BNP Paribas' main rivals, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole on Tuesday each unveiled more than €1 billion ($1.55 billion) in new write-downs.

BNP Paribas' results underline the bank's "ability to weather the storm and to continue to pursue its development strategy," CEO Baudouin Prot said in a statement.

The profit decline due to the crisis was partly offset by strong results at the group's Italian operations and its retail network in emerging markets.

The group's first-quarter revenue slipped to €7.4 billion ($11.45 billion) from €8.21 billion in the year-earlier period.

Its corporate and investment bank posted a 73-percent drop in first-quarter pretax profit but was still one of the few profitable big European investment banks.

BNP Paribas shares, which closed Tuesday at €67.50 ($104.44), giving it a market value of roughly €61 billion, have lost less than 10 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the Stoxx 600 Bank index.

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