BNP Paribas posts record Q1 net profit

PARIS: French banking giant BNP Paribas on Thursday announced a record net profit of 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in the first quarter, up 9 percent, driven by operational performance and the integration of asset manager AXA IM.

Europe’s leading bank said net banking income – the equivalent of revenue in the banking sector – rose by 8.5 percent year-on-year between January and March to more than 14 billion euros.

The company’s asset management, insurance and savings arms saw a 32.8 percent jump to 1.9 billion euros, also in part due to its purchase of AXA IM.

The French bank announced that it had bought the subsidiary of French insurer AXA for 5.4 billion euros.