Portugal Colonial - BNP Paribas posts record profit of 10.2 bn euros

Equivalent to $10.9 billion, profits at the largest EU bank nearly matched the $11 billion in 2022 profits posted by the world's top bank, JPMorgan Chase, which has five times the market capitalisation.

BNP Paribas' net profit, an increase of 7.5 percent from 2021, was in line with the analyst consensus established by Bloomberg. The gain was 19 percent excluding exceptional items.

Net banking income -- what a bank earns from interest on loans minus interest paid depositors -- rose nine percent to 50.4 billion euros.

Operating costs rose by a more modest 8.3 percent, to 33.7 billion euros

Chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe said BNP Paribas "has revised its objectives upward in all three pillars of its Growth, Technology and Sustainability 2025 plan" following the strong performance.

The bank now targets average annual growth in net profit of more than nine percent through 2025.

Including share buybacks, BNP Paribas aims to increase payments to shareholders by an average of 12 percent per year over that period.

It proposed a dividend of 3.90 euros per share, up from 3.67 for 2021, and five billion in share buybacks this year.

BNP Paribas shares were up 0.6 percent in morning trading in Paris.

P.Serra--PC