BNP Paribas warns of ‘harsh’ bouts of market volatility

Paris — The difficult trading conditions at the end of last year remain a lingering threat for investment banks, which are being forced to restructure their businesses to adapt, said BNP Paribas chair Jean Lemierre.

“There is ample liquidity everywhere in the world; the corporate sector needs less protection against volatility because there is less volatility, but volatility can happen in a very harsh way for a few days,” Lemierre said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday. The environment seen in 2018 is continuing “now because of the monetary policy decided both by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank .

Lemierre is joining a growing chorus of bankers who warn that markets haven’t returned to normal. UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti last month described the first quarter as one of the most challenging in years. While Lemierre stopped short of providing details on his bank’s performance this year, he hinted that restructuring efforts happening at “all banks” could help improve earnings.“Banks are adapting to these circumstances,” Lemierre said from Brussels.

Trading at BNP Paribas slumped at the end of last year as it lost about $80m on derivatives trades linked to the US stock market. France’s largest bank decided to close its proprietary trading unit and US commodity derivatives business as part of a broader revamp. Rival Société Générale is bracing for even deeper measures at its investment bank, with plans to cut €8bn of risk-weighted assets at its global-markets unit. Deputy CEO Séverin Cabannes has told staff that top management isn’t betting on a turnaround anytime soon for the markets business.

Sverige Senaste nytt, Sverige Rubriker

Similar News:Du kan också läsa nyheter som liknar den här som vi har samlat in från andra nyhetskällor.

BUSINESS MAVERICK OP-ED: Why do financial markets overreact to bad news?We live in the era of the 24-hour news cycle. Corporate issues make the headlines and then rumbleon and on, taking new turns and causing more damage as company responses are analysed in minute detail. Sometimes, major incidents beget huge crises where significant investor responses are justified. In others, we often get the feeling that markets go over the top.
Källa: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Läs mer »

Ford to quit Russian passenger car marketJob losses expected as joint venture with local partner Sollers is wound up
Källa: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Läs mer »

MARKET WRAP: JSE posts broad-based gains, led by banksRand hedges and diversified miners fared well, while banks gained despite a 1% fall in the rand
Källa: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Läs mer »

Exhibition explores off-market photographyThe programme gives emerging photographers access to resources and business opportunities.
Källa: TheCitizen_News - 🏆 6. / 75 Läs mer »

Well-structured balance sheet needed amid red-hot US corporate credit marketEnvironment for corporate bonds remains benign with abundant liquidity, but fears loom that nasty credit squeeze can hit in America
Källa: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Läs mer »

Business Maverick: Stocks Slide Again as Bond-Yield Drop Stokes Worry: Markets WrapStocks slumped again in Asia as the precipitous decline in developed-market sovereign bond yields continued to unnerve investors about the economic outlook.
Källa: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Läs mer »

US stocks tumble as market grapples with growth fearsInvestors have been weighing how seriously to view a big drop in 10-year US Treasury bond yields in a recent session.
Källa: eNCA - 🏆 49. / 51 Läs mer »