By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) -BNP Paribas shares dropped sharply on Thursday as third-quarter results from its investment banking division, lower than expected capital buffers and weaker than expected sales in Belgium disappointed investors.
Increased trading activity at BNP's investment banking division ensured the euro zone's largest lender hit its profit forecast, but that still compared unfavourably with forecast-beating results from some of its rivals for the three months to Sept. 30.
BNP shares were down about 6% by 0813 GMT.
"Areas such as equity revenues and retail revenue performance will be questioned," analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a note to clients. "BNPP reported an underwhelming set of results."
Analysts also pointed to capital buffers (CET1) of 12.7% compared with expectations of 12.9%.
Jefferies said it had hoped for a better performance at BNP's investment bank division, CIB.
BNP said group net income over the three-month period was up 7.8% from a year earlier on a reported basis at 2.87 billion euros ($3.11 billion), in line with the 2.86 billion euro consensus in analyst estimates compiled by the company.
Revenue rose 3.1% on a reported basis to 11.9 billion euros, meeting expectations while the cost of risk -- money set aside for bad loans -- was 729 million euros, against analyst expectations of 859 million euros.
BNP, led by long-time CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, has been expanding its investment banking operations to counter slower growth in its retail division
The lender has also turned to acquisitions, with recent planned deals including AXA's asset management arm, AXA IM, for 5.1 billion euros, a 9% stake in insurance company Ageas and HSBC's private banking activities in Germany.
BNP's equity and prime services sales rose 13% year on year while fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) registered a 12% gain, slightly better than performance at Germany's Deutsche Bank.
Global corporate financing and advisory services grew by close to 6%, BNP said.
By contrast, revenue at its commercial and consumer finance division CPBS fell 2.6%, weakened by its car-leasing unit Arval as used car prices continued to drop.
BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) reported a 1.7% rise in third-quarter net interest income from a year earlier, navigating a challenging French retail market in which strict mortgage rate regulations and fixed savings accounts deny banks the interest rate windfalls enjoyed by rivals elsewhere.
The French lender also confirmed its 2024 targets, including revenue growth of more than 2% compared with 2023 and group net income of more than 11.2 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9217 euros)