This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

Bnp Paribas Spons Adr
4/30/2021
Thank you very much, operator. Good afternoon, fine ladies, gentlemen. Trust you are doing well, and welcome to BNP Paribas' first quarter results. In the usual way, I'll take you through the first two chapters of the result presentation, which I trust you have under your eyes, and before handing it over to you on Q&A. And in a nutshell, if I can, I mean, what you will see is that BNP Paribas posted very solid results, on all fronts. As a background, in the first quarter of 2021, we have seen economic recovery coming through gradually thanks to the adapted responses to the health crisis that have been more accommodating towards the economy in general. Besides, governments across Europe continue to extend support measures and introduced new initiatives geared towards economic stimulus. In this environment, BNP Paribas continued to mobilize its resources, its expertise to support individuals, companies, institutions, and to meet the specific needs of a successful and sustainable economic recovery. In this context, as I mentioned at the beginning, the group delivered very solid results. As evidenced this quarter, BNP Paribas continues to be very well positioned to leverage its diversified and integrated model its strong balance sheet and its powerful execution platforms to deliver solid results while strengthening its social and environmental commitments. So BNP Paribas did very well on all fronts. If we now move to the presentation, focusing on key messages first on slide three. The mobilization of the group's resources and expertise was illustrated in particular by over 110 billion euros in financing rates for clients in the syndicated loan, bond and equity markets, up 21% versus last year and also versus 2019. On the same note, total loans outstanding continued to evolve positively with a 0.2% increase on the fourth quarter 2020. In the very In the first quarter of 2021, this is reflected in BNP Paribas delivering a set of very solid results, and this in all lines of the P&L. Let's start with the one at the top, the revenues. They're up 8.6% on the first quarter last year. Costs evolved 5.4% year-on-year, thus delivering a positive jaws effect, and this despite the year-on-year increase of almost 300 million euros in the single resolution fund. So we have to contribute 300 million more than a year ago. And this as a key component of taxes subject to IFRIC 21, so they all fall into the first quarter. Excluding these taxes, costs were up 2.5% in connection with the strong development of the activity in this quarter. So very positive, Charles. When we look to the cost of risk, it's standing at a very low level of 24 basis points, and this across all businesses. Finally, the group's net results came in at a solid 1.8 billion euros, up 38% compared to a year ago. If you now turn to slide five, you can see the total exceptional items of the first quarter are basically stable year on year. Moreover, here you can see the total taxes and contributions books as IFRIC 21 in the first quarter 21, and this for the full year and you can see that they have increased by €279 million, the almost 300 that I talked about just earlier. If you can now swipe to slide 6, you can see the performance of the group in the first quarter accompanied by positive jobs. Revenues are not only higher than in the first quarter of 2020, which had been strongly impacted by negative 1-ups, They were also higher than in the first quarter 2019. And even though the first quarter of 21 benefited from a rebound effect, it demonstrated that our revenue momentum is doing better than just normalizing. If we keep comparing with 2019, you can see the effect of our transformation with operating expenses 2.2% lower than in the first quarter 2019 when excluding taxes subject to E321. These improvements translated in a 20% increase in gross operating income. And when comparing the net income with 2019, it retracted, and this is the net income, so after non-operational items and after taxes, it retracted by 7.8% given the above average non-operating items we saw in 2019. And also the corporate tax rate in 2021 is at a typically higher level for a first quarter, given IFRIC 21, and in particular, the non-deductible nature of the single resolution fund. So, having it non-deductible means your tax rate implicitly improves, goes up. And this quarter, it has not seen any counterbalancing effects as we have seen in the past. If we now move a bit more in detail in the lines corresponding to the operating divisions, and let's start with revenues on slide 7. They increased by 7%, or 10.3% at constant scope and exchange rates, which is relevant to mention because the euro basically got stronger towards all other currencies. And so the revenues were up on a like-for-like basis of 1.2% at domestic markets due to the higher financial fees in the networks, and strong growth at Arval and Consorzbank in Germany. They were up 4.4% in international financial services, thanks to a very good performance at Bankwest and strong growth in the asset management businesses, so asset management insurance, and despite a somewhat less favorable context at this moment for the other businesses within IFS. Thirdly and lastly, CIB's revenues progressed sharply by almost 30%, with a very good performance in each of the three businesses of CIB. If I can now ask you to flick to slide 8, where we see the costs of our operating divisions. Those were up 2.8%, or just 0.9%, excluding the taxes subject to IFRIC 21. And all divisions delivering positive jobs when excluding those taxes. If we look first at domestic markets, it saw a decrease of 0.9% in cost excluding these taxes. On the same basis, costs in the networks were down 1.8%. International financial services costs were down 6.5% year on year, with a significant decrease across all its businesses. Finally, CIB operated also with very positive jaws on the back of the positive evolution of revenues and clearly outpacing that of costs by more than eight points. If we now go onto another line of the P&L, cost of risk, I would kindly ask you to flick through the three dedicated slides on the topic, and they start at slide nine. You can see, as I mentioned, that it stood at a low level of 42 basis points over loans outstanding. It was 530 million euros lower than a year ago, mainly due to a decrease in impairment of non-performing loans, or in technical terms, Stage 3. And globally, no release of provisioning of performing loans, so-called stages 1 and 2, in anticipation. As such, if we label as low cost of risk, they are close to 2019 level. And as I mentioned, the reserves that have been built up in stages 1 and 2 are still here. Now, if we take the business one by one, in corporate banking, cost of risk was relatively stable year on year at 51 basis points of loans outstanding. Turning to domestic markets, slide 10, cost of risk remained low at 24 basis points of outstanding in French retail. It decreased in Belgian retail as well at BNL on the back of lower impairment of those non-performing loans, thus bringing, for example, BNL's cost of risk over 60%. of loans outstanding at a low level of 56 basis points on our trajectory to have it gravitate around 50 basis points. In the other retail businesses on slide 11, personal finance saw a sharp decrease in cost of risk clocking in at 138 basis points of loans outstanding, thanks to its efficient processes of managing delinquencies and its good performance in debt collection. As such, Cost of risk at personal finance returned this quarter to a level comparable to that seen in the first quarter 2019. Europe Med's cost of risk significantly improved on the back of a decrease in the impairment of non-performing loans. And lastly, Bank West saw an overall right back of cost of risk as provisioning right backs on performing loans more than offset a low level in impairment of non-performing loans. If we now finalize the overview of the group and we swipe to slide 12 on the financial structure, you can see that our common equity T1 ratio was stable compared to a quarter ago at 12.8%. The increase in risk-weighted assets this quarter was indeed offset by the impact of the first quarter 21 results itself impacted by IFRIC 21 And this after taking into account a 50% payout ratio. So we take the results and we consider that 50% will be paid in dividend and only the remainder 50% contributes to strengthening the common equity T1. Let me also gently remind you that 50% of the earnings of 2020 are intended to be returned to shareholders and are therefore also outside of the CET1 ratio. On the other metrics, like leverage ratio, it stood at 4.3%, and the group's immediately available liquidity reserve totalled, I have no other adjective, a whopping 454 billion euros at the end of the first quarter. The evolution of these ratios goes to confirm the very solid financial structure of BNP Paribas. If we now look at slide 13, you can see that our net book value per share stood at 83.7 euros at the end of March, And at 74.5 euros, our tangible net book volume per share has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 73% since 2008, highlighting our continued value creation through the cycle and through all the hiccups that we might, or the economy might have endured during that period. And so if we then summarize our ambitious policy of engagement with society and we start at slide 14. So the group CSR policy is geared towards meeting the 17 sustainable development goals as set out by the United Nations and is based on a set of ambitious and measurable targets. To illustrate this, the group has set itself a target to increase financing to companies, furthering the energy transition and to sectors contributing directly to the sustainable development goals and this for 210 billion euros by the end of 2022, an increase of 12% towards the levels reached in 2020. And if with this you advance to slide 15, you can see more specific action plans, so the details of what I talked about, in areas such as financial inclusion, fines against climate change, and biodiversity. That may also emphasize that in line with our commitment to fight climate change, BNP Paribas has joined, as was announced this week, the net zero banking alliance launched by the United Nations and a decisive step in the mobilization of the financial sector. I leave you to Peru's slide 16 that summarizes the continuous reinforcement of the group's internal control and compliance program. So with this, we have got an overview of BNP Paribas, and I would now like to take you through the main divisions. So I would kindly ask you to advance to domestic markets, which is slide 18 to 22. As you can see, domestic markets continue to mobilize its resources to support the economy. For instance, BNL continued to grant state guaranteed loans in the first quarter to the tune of 700 million euros. Meanwhile, French retail banking is preparing for the imminent launch of a new scheme to offer participating loans supported by the French state in the context of its stimulus plan with the aim to shore up companies' balance sheet and promote investment. Business drive was strong with loans up 6.5% year-on-year on the back of a rise in corporate loans and a good momentum in mortgage loans. Besides, the effects of the health crisis drove deposits higher but with a downturn in deposits, for example, in France. In addition, all balance sheet savings were sharply up year on year. In French retail banking, there was a steep rise in life insurance growth and flows to the tune of 44%, while Belgian retail banking saw its mutual funds inventory grow by 32% year on year. Moreover, domestic markets saw an acceleration of digital uses with over 4.8 million of daily connections to digital apps on average, up 37% year-on-year. Coincidentally, this quarter, Hello Bank as well as Nickel crossed symbolic thresholds with the number of Hello Bank customers exceeding 3 million, while Nickel reached 2 million accounts open since its inception. Domestic markets is also transforming its operational model with, for instance, the ongoing rollout of its service centers across geographies, accompanying the transformation of the networks and the evolution of clients' behavior. This shared innovative technological platform, providing integrated customer request management, is now available to 100% of the sales force in French retail banking, while its rollout is underway in Belgian retail banking. Now, if we look in terms of P&L, revenues were up 1.1%. Looking at networks first, they showed good resilience and the impact of low interest rates was partly offset by higher loan volumes and financial fees. Looking at specialized businesses, Arval saw a sharp increase of nearly 20% in its revenues this quarter. Furthermore, personal investors, in particular through Consorzbank, as I mentioned earlier in Germany, saw a steep rise in assets under management driven by very strong net asset inflows and market performance, a record number of orders processed in January, and its revenues in the first quarter rise by 19% year-on-year. If we then turn to costs, they were a tad higher due to the steeper taxes subject to IFRIC 21 this year. Excluding these taxes, they were down 0.9% year-on-year, with net perks in particularly down 1.8%. On the other hand, the costs in the specialized businesses evolved by 5%, but in connection with their top-line growth. As already mentioned, domestic markets showed positive jaws this quarter. Besides, gross operating income was up 4% year-on-year, excluding the ICUC21 taxes. And pre-tax income stood at 590 million euros, marking a 2.8% rise on last year. Excluding taxes subject to IFRIC 21, pre-tax income for the division was up 6.1%. To wrap up domestic markets, it saw an increased level of activity this quarter, positive jaws effects of two points excluding taxes subject to IFRIC 21, a low cost of risk as well as a moderately higher pre-tax income. So that's the first domain. If you now advance to slide 23-29, you'll see that our International Financial Services Division witnessed an overall good business drive, despite lingering effects of the health crisis, in particular in personal finance. Looking at the overall momentum this quarter, new low production in personal finance evolved very positively thanks to the mitigation of public health measures, but average loans outstanding remained somewhat curtailed by the loss of loan production in the second quarter 2020. Moreover, international retail networks of IFS saw good momentum in fees as well as a rebound in new loan production. Lastly, asset gathering businesses saw good net asset inflows as well as a favorable performance and exchange rate effect largely offset by the scope effect stemming in particular from the disposal by asset management of its stake in a joint venture. IFS, so International Financial Services, continued to roll out its digital strategy with, for instance, 4.8 million digital customers across international retail networks. If we now look at the P&L, International Financial Services revenues clocked in at 4 billion euros, a tad lower than in the first quarter 2020, reflecting the unfavorable Forex impact this quarter, as I mentioned earlier. the euro getting stronger towards mostly all others. So revenues were up 4.4% on a like-for-like basis. Looking at the contribution of now the various components of IFS, what do we see? First, revenues in personal finance were down 9.7% due to the reduction in loans outstanding stemming from the health crisis. Second, revenues at constant scope and exchange rates in international retail networks saw contrasted evolutions. On the one hand, they were down 8.9% in Europe Med due to a decrease in net interest income, in particularly Poland and Turkey, partly offset by positive evolutions in fees. On the other hand, they were up 11.8% at Bank of the West on the back of a higher loan production as well as a non-recurring item. Third, moving to asset gathering businesses, what do we see? Insurance revenues were up 37%, thanks to a continued rebound in the savings business and a positive base effect due to the one-off accounting impact a year ago. On the other hand, wealth and asset management saw revenues increase by 5.5%, in particular to the effect of the strong 2020 net asset inflows, as well as the positive performance effect in asset management. If we now turn to costs, they were down 6.5%, or 2.1% at constant scope and exchange rates, with all IFS businesses seeing a decrease in cost. As a result, at historical scope and exchange rates, IFS operated with very positive jaws of 5.8 points. On the back of this, gross operating income was up 12% on the first quarter, or even 18.5% at constant scope and exchange rate. If we then look at pre-tax income, it was up 96% year-on-year, or 104% on a like-for-like basis, and this on the back of the sharp decrease in cost of risk. So, wrapping up, international financial services saw a good level of results, very positive jaws, and a sharp increase in income. If with this, I can ask you to turn your attention to the third division, this on slide 30 to 33 on corporate and institutional banking which saw a very strong momentum across all its businesses in the financing space new business origination was strong in equity issuances as well as in loan and bond markets as such corporate banking saw a troubling of ecm volumes led as well as a 13 percent hike in corporate bond issuances compared to to the same quarter a year ago. Loans were down 6.2% due to a normalization of volumes following the spike in utilization in the first half of 2020, as you remember. On the other hand, behavior stemming from the health crisis drove deposits up 22.5% year on year, with this trend seen reversed in the last two quarters. If we now turn to the second domain in CIB, global markets, saw a still robust activity in rates, forex, and credit, as well as a record activity in equity and prime services. Moreover, the level of global bond volumes that were led grew by 27% compared to the same quarter a year ago. And then last and third, security services saw an increase in assets under custody and administration, as well as a record volume of transactions this quarter. Besides these volumes, CIB reaffirmed its leadership in Europe to its ranking in loans, bonds, cash management, and corporate banking, and it also reached top five status in corporate banking in Asia for the second year in a row. Moreover, in the fast-growing field of sustainable finance, it ranked number one in global sustainable bonds and number two in global green bonds this quarter. Now, if we turn to the P&L and on a like-for-like basis, CIB revenues were up 30% compared to the first quarter last year, with gains in all three business lines, including a 22% increase in corporate banking with gains in all regions and a very good performance of the capital markets platforms in EMEA. Secondly, a 47% increase in global markets with a record activity in equity and prime services and a very good performance in absolute terms in FIC, up 11% when compared with the first quarter of 2019, which demonstrates market share gains and ongoing strengthening of the platforms, albeit down 16% compared to the first quarter of 2020 due to a less buoyant environment for rates and forex. And then the third one, security services, up 5%, on the back of the strong business drive and steady growth by the platform. If we now look at the cost of CIB, they were up 16% year on year in connection, which is very strong activity. With revenue growth outpacing significantly cost evolution, CIB operated this quarter with, again, I have no other objective, overwhelmingly positive jaws of 11 points at constant scope and exchange rates. On the back of this, it is no surprise that the gross operating income was up over 60%. Hence, CIB generated 751 million euros of pre-tax income. In other words, 3.7 times the income achieved in the first quarter 2020. So, wrapping up the businesses, and CIB in particular, a very strong performance in revenues, overwhelmingly positive jaws, and a sharp increase in income for CIB this quarter. So, if with this we have done the businesses, and if I can ask you to switch to slide 35, which concludes today's presentation, and this before I will be switching to you for Q&A. As key takeaways, I would like you to keep the following in mind. First, there is a context of gradual recovery in the economy we have already discussed the benefits of adapted restriction measures on the overall state of the economy. Looking ahead, the progress in vaccination campaigns will pave the way for further loosening of restrictions that will lead to an acceleration in the economic recovery in the second half of the year. Two, an increase in revenues compared to the first quarter 2020 and also versus 2019, which goes to show that with its platforms, its breadth of expertise, the strength of its balance sheet with respect to liquidity and capital, BNP Paribas is very well positioned indeed to carry on stepping up its market share via new clients, increased wallet share, and more servicing. As such, seizing more than its fair share of opportunities arising from the rebound in activity in the second half of this year. Three, a positive jaws effect and strong growth in gross operating income, despite the hikes in taxes subject to IFRIC 21. Furthermore, all divisions operated with positive jaws, and these positive jaws at group level remain a key priority for the whole of the year. Four, a low cost of risk at 42 basis points of loans outstanding. As indicated, this improvement was basically driven by lower impairment of non-performing loans, which reflects our conservative risk stance, and ergo, the stages 1 and 2 that have been built up remain fully available. 5. A solid net income, not far from the level achieved in the first quarter of 2019. You will have noticed that the momentum seen in the first quarter of 2021 was very good indeed. As a matter of fact, better than we had anticipated. With this in mind, the overall trend for 2021 is likely to be even higher than our earlier indications back in February. And because we think it matters there is a sixth one, I would like to conclude by reminding you that BNP Paribas joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance launched by United Nations. Fine, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention and I'm now pleased to take your questions.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to ask a question, please press 01 on your telephone keypad. Please lift your handset. Ensure that the mute function on the telephone is switched off and you are in a quiet area to maximize audio quality. We will take questions in order received, and we will take as many as science permits. If you find that your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue by pressing 02 on your telephone keypad. Again, Please press 01 on your telephone keypad if you wish to ask a question. We have one first question from Mr. Jean-François Nuez from Goldman Sachs. Go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, Lars. Thanks for the call. I just wanted to ask, there was a strategic initiative that you guys talked about with one quick comment in your fourth quarter presentation, which was about your savings businesses in general, all considered, including private banking, asset management, and insurance. And in the results today, there was a strong improvement in the profitability, notably with strong draws, as you pointed out. I just wanted to understand whether you could tell us more about this initiative, what you're planning to do, in particular whether that entails inorganic growth or anything of the sort, because it's obviously an important driver of ROE. And the second question I wanted to ask on the strategic stuff was with regards to the Deutsche Bank business integration, which is supposed to take place in the second half as far as balance transfers are concerned, and therefore the P&L, I guess. I just wanted to understand your outlook more precisely because we are really a couple of months away now from taking them on board. What do you think the balance, the revenues, and also the ancillary trading revenues that we could expect with regards to this business? And just on a pure numbers question, I just wanted to understand whether you could tell us how the TLTROs are booked because we see a big revenue in the corporate center but also a big decline in some of the net interest margins in the businesses. And I just wanted to try to understand whether there is any offsetting or whether the corporate center is purely the private equity business that was mentioned in the slide. Thank you.
You're reading a preview of the BNPQY Q1 2021 earnings call.
Free account.