BNP Paribas revealed it had 5 billion euros of exposure to Greek sovereign debt, the largest so far among major French banks, amid worries over wider contagion from the Greece debt crisis.
BNP on Thursday also posted first-quarter net profit that beat analyst forecasts, thanks to improved market conditions and the integration of Fortis, and said the economic recovery had begun.
Speaking on BFM radio BNP’s chief executive Baudouin Prot tried to calm fears that the Greek economic crisis could spread to Italy and Portugal.
“All the scenarios for the contagion of the Greek crisis to Spain and Portugal are unfounded,” he said.
However, he said that BNP had also decided not to reveal its exposure to euro zone countries aside from Greece.
“We have decided at BNP Paribas that we will not give any number on countries in the euro zone besides Greece,” he told Radio Classique.
The bank pegged its Greek sovereign debt exposure at 5 billion euros (US$6.49 billion), a day after rival Societe Generale said its exposure was 3 billion euros.
BNP also said yesterday that it had 3 billion euros in corporate commitments in Greece, mainly with international firms involved in maritime defense and with risks that had “minimal correlation” to Greece’s economy.
BNP’s other major French rival, Credit Agricole, has said its sovereign Greek exposure is 850 million euros.
French bank Natixis’ parent company BPCE said yesterday its exposure to Greece stood at 2.1 billion euros. Sovereign exposure was 1.4 billion euros.
This puts BNP firmly ahead of both French peers in Greek exposure. Unlike them, BNP does not have a significant banking subsidiary in Greece, and analysts see the group as less vulnerable to the broader Greek economy.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS