JEAN-LAURENT BONNAFÉ The last few months have indeed been marked by successive tragedies that cannot leave us indifferent. In addition to the aggression against Ukraine, which has continued and become a lasting conflict, our world is grieving the events unfolding in the Middle East. The unbelievable violence of the terrorist attacks in Israel led to the war in Gaza and the terrible suffering of the local civilian population. For a global bank such as BNP Paribas, these situations are both complex and painful, especially as many of our employees are directly concerned. BNP Paribas is present in Ukraine, through UKRSIBBANK. We can only admire and be extremely grateful to our subsidiary’s 5,000 employees for their commitment, which is essential if we’re to maintain the continuity of banking services that the public and businesses so desperately need. More generally, we strive to provide concrete help to people in all the regions concerned through our Rescue & Recover Fund.
J.-L. B. Beyond their human impact, these conflicts, which reflect the fragmentation of the world, disrupt the global economy, which is operating in slow motion. Growth in China hasn’t yet recovered. And the economy remains depressed in Europe, with the slowdown particularly affecting households, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and very small enterprises (VSEs), which are being forced to postpone or scale down their projects. Faced with this instability, our customers are more vulnerable than ever and need our help.
Our role is to listen to them, understand their specific needs and help them manage this complexity, which is a source of uncertainty for the future. This, our responsibility as the leading bank in the European Union, is vital in all phases of the economic cycle. In this unstable context, it’s essential for us to support, advise and finance all our clients - individual, corporate and institutional - by providing them with a comprehensive range of solutions adapted to their needs.In addition to helping our clients, under the best possible conditions, to absorb the short-term shocks that we all endure, we support them in their transition to a low-carbon economy. We cannot lose sight of this long-term goal. On the contrary, we must continue to help them move towards this inevitable change in model.
Furthermore, over the last few months, major advances in artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular generative AI, have prompted us to recognise, for ourselves and for our customers, the considerable potential for transformation offered by these new technologies, while at the same time establishing the safeguards needed to ensure that they’re used sensibly and responsibly.
11.2
billion euros of distributable net income, Group share(1)
J.-L. B. In the lacklustre market environment we’re experiencing, our Group delivered very strong results. This performance is solid and creates value for all our stakeholders. BNP Paribas continues to grow faster than the economy, developing and gaining market share. With revenues of close to €47 billion in 2023, our performance is reflected in our net distributable income: in line with the target we set ourselves, it amounted to €11.2 billion in 2023, up 14.1% on 2022. As for our operating expenses, they were down by 1%. The Group thus recorded a positive jaws effect(2). The cost of risk is low, and the risk profile is improving structurally. These results allow us to confirm a steady growth trajectory for our net income Group share through the economic cycle.
To follow our trajectory, we rely on our key principles, which are the engine of our development: the resilience of our diversified, integrated and scalable model; the consistency of our strategic guidelines; the effectiveness of our European platforms; and the unwavering commitment of our teams to meet the needs of our clients. As such, I would like to thank our 183,000 employees for their contributions, year after year, to the development of our Group.
Our three operating divisions make an effective contribution to the overall performance of BNP Paribas. In EMEA, Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) is the leading European CIB and the third-largest global CIB(3), alongside two US banks.
