BNP Paribas targets profit rebound at French retail arm by 2028

By Mathieu Rosemain and Bertrand De Meyer

PARIS (Reuters) -BNP Paribas plans to revive profit at its French retail division by 2028 via sales growth and headcount cuts, the euro zone's biggest bank said on Thursday, after weak results at the unit dragged on its share price.

The bank said in a presentation its French retail and consumer finance unit, CPBF, is targeting a return on normalized equity above 17% by 2028, up from 9.8% in 2024.

This turnaround will be driven by average annual revenue growth of more than 5% between 2024 and 2028, largely fuelled by a recovery in net interest income – the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out on deposits.

BNP expects revenue growth to outpace cost increases over the period, allowing for improved profitability. This will be notably supported by a reduction in headcount, though the bank said no voluntary departure plan was in place.

"In France, we intend to continue adjusting our footprint to match client needs. Since COVID-19, customer behaviour has changed, and we must keep adapting," CPBF Chief Financial Officer Maryline Anglaret told investors.

The group plans to reduce both the number of branches and so-called full-time equivalents (FTEs), a standard measure of workforce size.

BNP said it is targeting an average annual FTE reduction of 2.2% to 2.5% between 2026 and 2030.

BNP Paribas operated 1,545 branches in France at the end of 2024, down from 2,095 in 2014. The bank has told employee representatives it plans to accelerate closures, with around 500 branches expected to shut by 2030, according to French business daily Les Echos.

The bank's French retail unit head Isabelle Loc told investors there was no specific target for the number of branch closures.

Other savings will come from streamlining support functions, cutting real estate costs, pooling ATMs with other banks, and using artificial intelligence, BNP said.

In 2024, CPBF accounted for 13.5% of group revenue and 8.2% of BNP's pre-tax income, it said.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Bertrand de Meyer; Editing by Jan Harvey)