BNP Paribas has returned to profit in the third quarter after a record fine for violating US sanction controls in Sudan, Iran and Cuba.
The $8.9bn fine from US regulators hurt the bank’s first half results, and it reported a record €4.32bn loss in the second quarter. BNP also faced a criminal charge as well as the fine for violating US sanction controls in Sudan, Iran and Cuba between 2002 and 2012.
The bank was also given a one-year ban on clearing some dollar transactions to start in January.
This was only the second quarterly loss in the history of the Paris-based lender, formed in 2000 in a merger of the formerly state-owned retail bank Banque Nationale de Paris and the investment bank Paribas. For the first half overall, pre-tax losses were €1bn.
Chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, who faces a challenge to restore the bank’s reputation, told the Financial Times:
“BNP Paribas Group delivered this quarter a very good overall performance thanks to its diversified business and geographic mix. The good sales and marketing drive confirms the loyalty of our institutional, corporate and individual clients.”
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