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Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the presentation of BNP Paribas second quarter 2022 results. For your information, this conference call is being recorded. Supporting slides are available on BNP Paribas iHerb website, invest.bnpparibas.com. During today's presentation, you will be able to ask your question by pressing 01 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to ask a question, please make sure to be in a quiet area to maximize audio quality. I would like now to hand over the call to Lars Marchenil, Group Chief Financial Officer. Sir, please go ahead.

Thank you. Good afternoon from sunny Paris, fine ladies and gentlemen. I'll trust you're doing well, and welcome to BNP Paribas' second quarter results presentation. As you will see, BNP Paribas remains on a solid trajectory and keeps on with a robust start of the year. The group has confirmed its ability to deliver revenue growth, positive jaws, and benefits from a prudent risk management. Ladies and gentlemen, in a nutshell, the second quarter results will remind you all that BNP Paribas is an all-weather bank, outperforming the underlying economy, both in cases of economic head or tailwinds. So let's put on our shoes and let's walk through the results. In the usual way, I'll take you through the first two chapters of the results presentation before handing it over to you for Q&A. So if we start with slide three, where we see that on the back of its diversified and integrated model, the group delivered a very strong second quarter result, expanding its activities to provide continued support to our clients and the global economy. These performances illustrate our unique positioning in Europe, and this based on the strength of our leading platforms, as well as our capacity to generate growth at a greater pace than the underlying economy. If we look at the elements of the P&L, first the revenues, they increased by 8.5% on the same quarter last year, stemming from all divisions, with a strong increase by CIB, very solid growth by CPBS and the rise at investment and protection services. Supporting the growth in activity, costs have increased by 7.6% and by 4.9% on a like-for-like basis compared to a year ago. And as I said, that difference, 35% of the increase, was due to the scope and exchange rates effects. So what you can see is that the group continues to benefit not only from a strong potential for growth, but also from a strong operational performance delivering positive jaws of 0.9 points. As a result, gross operating income increased by 9.9% compared to the second quarter a year ago. Now, from that gross operating income, you have to look at the cost of risk. It stood at 33 basis points over loans outstanding. Again, a testimony to our sound long-term, and proactive risk management. So this low level of 33 basis points compared to the 40, let's say, over the cycle is embedding an ex-ante provision on our performing portfolio, and this in relation to the current macroeconomic and geopolitical environment that was partially offset by releases of provisions from the public health crisis. So this is, you know, I'll come back to that, but you know our prudent approach to provisioning. And so, hence, if you take all that, you see a very steep rise in groups net income. So clocking in at 3.2 billion euros, up 9% compared to a year ago, and even if you exclude additional items, up 18%. Now, if we turn to the group CET1 ratio, it clocked in at 12.2% in the second quarter, and the ROTE stood at 12.4% as an illustration of our reinforced profitability. So, a bank in the pink of health, or in a nutshell, a strong performance again this quarter, supporting our disciplined growth trajectory. So, if we list I can ask you to accompany me to slide number four. You can see that BNP Paribas solid model has delivered since the second quarter 2019, a sustained growth of net income averaging 8.8%, averaging 8.8% with a well balanced contribution from our three divisions. And this again, thanks to our diversified but integrated model. So with stronger market positions, and continuous reinforcement of our platforms, our ROTE at 12.4% illustrates the strength of this model. And as shown, we benefit not only from a model generating an ROTE above our cost of capital, but also from a model which is more resilient and performing above the average of the European peers year after year. So if with this, I can ask you to swipe to slide number five, you can see that our model is providing a solid base for growth with 8% increase in loan outstanding and 7% in deposits. And this thanks to our diversification, favorable positioning and a very comprehensive product offering here again with leading positions. As already evidenced by the strong business momentum of the first semester, our potential for growth is driven By additional recurring income, we have embarked with our strategic developments finalized in 2021 or at the beginning of 2022. I remind you that they should provide around 900 million euros revenues as soon as 2022 compared to 2021. You already saw a part of this impact in the first semester. They are here to stay and to be amplified with the reinvestments to come from the capital release by the sale of Bank of the West. Last but not least, let me firmly reiterate that this growth is and will continue to be disciplined with the objective of delivering positive jobs each year for every division. If with this, you can advance to slide six. Our long-term, prudent and proactive risk management policy is a real and proven competitive advance. Our risk approach is prudent, as illustrated by our cost of risk on gross operating income, which is one of the lowest among European peers. In addition, we have continuously improved our risk profile, and this since the last 10 years, be it by adapting our product mix, for example, personal finance, or exiting gradually certain geographies, businesses, sectors. Last but not least, we have a prudent approach in terms of provisioning. So if I come back to the cost of risk, as I referred to just a couple of slides before, and if we refer to the second quarter this year, we have provisioned 511 million euros ex ante. So that is increasing stage one and stage two provision. And this in relation to the indirect effects of the invasion of Ukraine and higher inflation and interest rates. At the same time, we have released 187 million euros in provision related to the public health crisis. And so that's basically IFRS 9 working for us. And in a nutshell, BNP Paribas stands makes it well prepared for potential tougher times. And these are all elements that bode well for the achievement of our planned target of cost of risk of 40 basis points over outstanding. As you know, as a result of our solid track record, high profitability and growth potential, we have increased our ordinary payout ratio by 10 points up to 60%, and this since last year in the context of our strategic plan GTS 2025. On slide seven, and as a reminder, you can find a way we structured our payout ratio. we committed to a cash dividend portion of a minimum of 50%, 5-0, with a complement by way of share buyback up to 10%, the combination of the two being able 50 plus 10, 60, right? In addition, and as mentioned in December 2021, the sale of Bank of the West will result in an exceptional distribution by way of share buybacks for an amount of around 4 billion euros, and this to neutralize the dilution of earnings. Therefore, we have put into reserves, starting in the first quarter of 2022, 60% of our earnings net of the contribution of Bank of the West. For the same reason, the exceptional capital gain on the sale will not lead to ordinary distribution. So if with this, I can ask you to swipe to slide 9, you can see that exceptional items for the second quarter are slightly negative on the whole. So the beat that you see is a real and true beat. Moreover, in Turkey, cumulative inflation over three years reached a level of 100%. And the impact of the effects induced by the hyperinflation situation in Turkey, 100%, are overall very limited for BNP Paribas as a consequence of the efficiency of our hedging. You can find the details in the annexes on the slide 64. If we list you can swipe to slide 10. Once again, you see the strong performance of the group in the second quarter and the draws that accompany it. The financial performance has improved year over year on all fronts, all the way down to the bottom line, leading to a net income up by a fair 9.1%, or as I mentioned earlier, 18.5%, excluding exceptional items. Looking back at those solid results, the group has delivered a return on tangible equity of 12.4%, way above our cost of equity. And this with an earnings per share up by 13.5% versus the first six months of a year ago. So this is basically the group and how the group stands out. If we now look at the divisions that basically you realize this, what do we see? So if we slide, if we go, well, yeah, if you slide to page number 11, you can see that the operating divisions in total, they grew by a solid 9.7% year-on-year, 7.2 on a like-for-like. This growth has been achieved on the back of a strong performance of the operating divisions, re-emphasizing the strength of our diversified model and ability to capture growth. CIB revenues grew sharply by 10.6% or 5.6 on a like-for-like basis, So, consolidating market shares, accelerating with the reinforcement of the businesses, and triggering further crossover. So, 11% on CIB. But also, 11% on CPBS, with a strong increase, mainly driven by commercial and personal banking, with the continued improvement in fees, as well as the increase in net interest income. And this, combined with a very strong growth for our specialized businesses, think of Arval. In a challenging environment, the third division, IPS, delivered an increase in revenues of 2.2%, with good performances in wealth management and insurance, more than offsetting the negative market impact on asset management. If we now flick to slide 12, where we look at costs, so they evolved by 8.6% or 5.7% on a like-for-like basis in the operating divisions, so generating positive jaws of 0.9. And this is at historical scope. And if you would look at constant scope of 1.5%. So this increase in cost is mainly driven by the strong business growth for the quarter and thus variable costs topped up by changes in parameter. As such, CIB delivered positive jaws of 0.6 points at constant scope and exchange rate. CPPS delivered also this quarter very positive jaws as a result of its increased efficiency and change in operating model. Lastly, IPS costs were up 6.7% year on year on the back of the support of business, as well as targeted investments. If we now go to the other element of the P&L, namely the cost of risk, and that's on slide 13. You can see on slide 13, as I mentioned, that it stood at the low level of 33 basis points of loans outstanding, slightly lower than in the same quarter a year ago. So this is mainly due to the combination of one, low impairment on non-performing loans, so-called stage three provisions, and two, an ex-ante provisions stages one and two for expected losses in relation to the indirect effects of the invasion of Ukraine and the higher inflation and interest rates context as detailed before. But, and thirdly, at the same time, we registered a release of provisions related to the public health crisis. So again, making IFRS 9 work. If we now move on to each business one by one, you will see the same pattern of low level of cost of risk with ex-ante provisioning for personal finance and Europe Mediterranean mainly, and releases of provisions related to the public health crisis. If we now turn to slide 16, you can see our CET1 ratio standing at 12.2%. The contribution of the quarterly net result after considering, I cannot stress it enough, 60%, 6-0, ordinary payout, and net of the impact pertaining to the organic growth of our risk-weighted assets. And so that growth, 60% dividend risk-weighted asset growth, led to a neutral effect on our common equity T1 ratio. And this, again, as we have continued to support our clients and the economy. A stepped-up support for the economy in the light also of the upcoming sale of Bank of the West. Also, in a similar way to the first quarter, we continue to see the reversible impact of market prices on OCI, which resulted in an aggregated negative impact of 20 basis points. If you look at the leverage ratio, it stood at 3.8% this quarter, well above the current requirement of 3%. And I remind you that the group is keeping its 2025 target at 4.2% through ramping up of 81s. If we then go to slide 17, you can see the usual steady growth of our tangible net book value per share, standing at 78 euros at the end of June, up 1.7 euros compared to a year ago. As you know, contributing to a responsible and sustainable economy is at the heart of BNP Paribas' company purpose and is a key pillar of our 2025 GTS plan. And as you can see on slide 18, the group is fully engaged around three major priorities. First, this is about supporting our clients to achieve their carbon reduction goals and hence being in line with our own net zero trajectory. To do so, every single part of BNP Paribas is working relentlessly on assisting our clients to transition towards a more sustainable and low carbon economy. Second, we aim to foster a group-wide sustainability culture which comes with the right monitoring tools, processes and governance to drive this effort. Third, we are determined to deliver the net zero commitment that we have taken. To do so, we need to make sure that CO2 emissions of our clients financed by our lending books will be reduced over time and at the right speed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Besides, not only do we have concrete, innovative financing solutions and top ranking positions in sustainable bond issuance, but we have also set for ourselves near-term reduction targets, near-term reduction targets for 2025. So I will be still around to deliver on them on three major sectors, such as power, oil and gas, and automotive. If we now advance to slide 19, you get an overview of concrete illustrations on how we are mobilizing BNP Paribas distinctive model on five priority topics contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable savings and financing, carbon neutrality, biodiversity, circular economy, and social inclusion. You can see with those concrete examples that each of them is clearly embedded in the development of our businesses. I leave you to peruse slide 20 on internal control and compliance emphasizing the rigorous and diligent implementation of all the necessary measures to the enforcement of international sanctions. So with this, fine ladies and gentlemen, I would like now kindly ask you to advance to the first quarter results by division. And it starts on slide 22 with CIB, which saw another strong quarter, thanks to the new dimension of the setup building on a diversified and integrated model with a stronger than ever capacity to support clients. Indeed, business activity was robust again this quarter, confirming our leading positions in EMEA, the ongoing development of our platforms, and the successful implementation of our strategic moves that we completed last year and at the beginning of this year. If I walk through the three entities, first, global banking. delivered a very good performance with revenues at 0.8% year on year, and demonstrated its capacity to overcome the unfavorable context with activities on the primary market down by 34%. And so this effect compensating that was driven by a sharp increase in trade finance and cash management, and this in all regions, as well as a resilient performance by capital markets in Europe and higher M&A revenues. So, in a nutshell, strong resilience for global banking with further gains in market shares in financing in Europe and worldwide, and this with a prudent stance, as always. Second division, supported by the continued and strong client activities and the new dimension of our setup, global markets saw very robust growth with again this quarter a high demand for hedging activities across the board, hence a very good performance for FIC with revenues increasing just shy of 15% year-on-year. Also, our equity activities show a good momentum on derivatives as well as prime services and clocked in at very good levels. In this context, revenues sharply increased by 16%. Our leadership was again confirmed with our number one position on bond issues in euros and the continued development of our electronic platforms. In this context, global markets revenue saw a steep increase of 15.3%, well balanced between FIC and equity and prime services. Third and last, security services saw again this quarter a very high volume of transactions on the back of a strong business drive. And this in a challenging environment where the business saw a very good resiliency of assets on the back of the rollout of major new mandates that were won in 2021 and the beginning of this year. And this sustained by a diverse effect set towards buy and sell side and further boosted by the positive impact of the interest rate environment. All in all, revenues increased by a material 16%, a very strong performance. So all this resulted in a sharp increase in CIB revenues, up 10.6% compared to a year ago. Total CIB costs were up 13% year-on-year in connection with the new expansion of the setup and the strong activity. Hence, the growth at constant scope and exchange rate was 5%, generating a positive jaws effect of 0.6 points on a like-for-like basis. If we go down further in the P&L, gross operating income of CIB was up 7.2% year on year and accompanied by a low cost of risk. Hence, CIB generate 1.7 billion euros of pre-tax income at 5% compared to a year ago. To wrap up, a very good performance for CIB as a continued illustration of our leadership position served by the new dimension of the platform structuring our ability to match and serve corporate and institutional clients' needs while sticking to our prudent approach. So this is first division. The second, commercial personal banking and services, slides 26 to 34. As you can see, CPBS maintained in the first quarter a robust trajectory with a sustained business drive and very positive jobs. Commercial and personal banking, so one part of it, performed very well and growth remained strong for the other part to specialize businesses. In terms of activity, loans were up 7%, deposits grew by 7.5% across all businesses. Moreover, the division continued the transformation of its operating model on the back of further variabilization of cost, like what we saw in BNL and development of technology for instance, in Luxembourg. Turning to the specialized businesses, Arval confirmed a solid growth with a good organic growth in the finance fleet, 5.9%, and very high used car prices. Outstandings are increasing at Leasing Solutions with a good resistance in business drives as well as in personal finance with a growth amplified by the integration of the buy now, pay later business. With respect to the new digital businesses, Nickel saw a record number of accounts opening this quarter in France and Spain, reaching more than 2.7 million accounts open since inception, of which more than 1 million over the last two years. In terms of P&L, CPBS revenues were up sharply 11% on the second quarter, with steep increase both in commercial and personal banking, and in specialized businesses. If we focus on the first, commercial and personal banking, the performance was very solid and up 9.4%. Net interest income increased notably in the Eurozone by 8%, supported by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, but also in Europe met by 57% on a like-for-like basis on the back of strong volumes in Poland and Turkey and favorable interest rates. Fees continued to mark a steep rise in all customer segments at plus 6% in the Eurozone and 28% in EuropeNet. As a result, jobs were extremely positive in both regions. If we cross the Atlantic and go to the Pacific, in the US, Bankwest maintained a robust business drive with a strong increase in loan production, including loans to corporate clients and mortgages, but excluding in particular the effect of the end of the PPPs. If we now look at the other part in CPBS, the specialized businesses, revenues were up 14.4%. Arval and Leasing Solutions saw a sharp increase of 33.6% on the back of high used car prices and volume growth. Personal Finance saw revenues up 3.9%, topped up by the integration of Floa, so buy now, pay later, and loan production volume increased by 8.9% on last year, and this despite a lackluster environment in the automotive industry. If we look at the cost of CPBS, they were up 6.5%, reflecting the strong business momentum with very positive jobs this quarter, 4.5 points. This is a clear testimony of the capacity of our commercial and personal banking networks to contain their costs and deliver high positive jobs. Similarly, the specialized businesses confirmed their potential to grow at marginal cost with an extremely high positive jobs effect for Arval and Leasing Solutions, 26.7 points. Hence, pre-tax stood at 2.4 billion euros this quarter, delivering, what else can I say, a distinguished 35% rise last year, including the limited and positive overall impact of the hyperinflation situation in Turkey of 23 million euros and thanks to the efficiency of hedging. To conclude on CPVS, a very strong quarter in all businesses and geographies with very positive jobs, a significant increase in growth of income and an improvement in cost of risk. Having said all this, let's now move to slide 35 to 38 where we have investment and protection services. They witnessed an overall good business drive despite the market environment and a very good resilience in results. Indeed, in a difficult context, net asset inflows held up well and marked a good resilience with an overall positive evolution. In wealth management, business activity was good this quarter, on the back of very good net asset inflows driven by Europe and growth in transaction fees, particularly in Asia. Despite challenging market conditions, Asset management had slightly positive net asset flows inflows this quarter, with significant outflows in money market funds, offset by inflows in medium and long-term vehicles, emphasizing the resilience provided by the business model. Insurance saw a continued business drive with a good momentum on savings and protection. Net asset inflows were good in unit-linked products. Gross inflows were strong in France. Simultaneously, on ESG, the division is rolling out its well-regarded impact offering and continues to develop the distribution of open-ended funds classified Article 8 and 9 in Europe. When we focus on the P&L, IPS revenues stood at 1.7 billion euros, up 2.2%, and this despite the unfavorable environment. This is the result of good performance on insurance, 2.7%, combined with the resilience on the whole of wealth and asset management, plus 1.9%. And notably, growth in real estate advisory. Costs, up 6.7%, driven by business developments and targeted investments. Pre-tax income, up 1.1% year on year. A very good performance in the context. So to wrap up, a strong resilience for IPS in a very adverse market context. If I can now ask you to swipe to slides 40 and 41 to conclude my presentation. A key takeaway I would like you to keep in mind. One, the group is on a solid trajectory as demonstrated by the performance for the first quarter. Second, BNP Paribas' distinctive model is clearly supporting our growth in revenues and our operational performance keeps on being high, resulting in positive jobs. Three, our cost of risk remains low on the back of our long-term proactive and prudent risk management, sustaining the resilience of our results. Four, in a nutshell, a powerful model which delivers a strong growth in results, outperforms the underlying economy, and ensures the successful execution of the 2025 group objectives as reminded before. This, fine ladies and gentlemen, concludes the second quarter 2022 results presentation. I thank you for your kind attention and I'm very pleased to take your questions.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. If you would like to ask a question, please press 01 on your telephone keypad. Please lift your handset and show that the mute function on your telephone is switched off and that you are in a quiet area to maximize audio quality. We will take questions in the order we set and we will take as many as time permits. If you find that your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue by pressing 02. Again, please press 01 on your telephone keypad to have the questions. First question from Tariq Elmejad from Bank of America. Sir, please go ahead.