The French bank's Swiss arm swung to a massive loss in the first half following major lending write-downs.
The Geneva-based bank posted a loss to June of more than 124.6 million Swiss francs ($137 million), from a 8.4 million franc profit in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing. The huge tumble is largely due to nearly 140 million francs in credit write-downs, according to the statement.
The results comes against the backdrop of a sharp profit decline at the parent bank based in Paris. In Switzerland, where BNP veteran Monique Vialatou has run the bank for the past three years, it is looking to cut roughly 250 of its total 1,400 jobs in a restructuring effort.
Commodities Fortunes
Specifically, the bank is reportedly considering the future of a Geneva-centered unit for commodities trade finance – including whether to shut it down – as part of a wider review. BNP has pulled back from the commodities business ever since 2014, when it was ordered to pay $8.9 for violating U.S. sanctions on Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
The Swiss bank's revenue slid 28 percent to 18.7 million francs, while it was only able to slash spending by a modest seven percent in response. BNP, one of the largest foreign banks in Switzerland, first disclosed the job cuts nearly one year ago, but paused them after the pandemic hit.
According to «Bloomberg,» BNP Paribas in Switzerland pioneered and grew big on so-called letters of credit to oil traders including Marc Rich beginning in the 1970s. Rich, a legendary commodities trader whose family office eventually became Glencore, had fled the U.S. for Switzerland in 1983 to escape U.S. prosecution for tax evasion.
