Banks
The French bank BNP Paribas will pay out twenty billion dividends to its shareholders in the period 2024-2026. One of the beneficiaries is the Belgian state, which has a 5.3 percent stake.
BNP Paribas wants to pay shareholders a total of approximately 20 billion euros in dividends in the period 2024-2026 (financial years 2023-2025). The Belgian state is one of the major shareholders of the French bank, with a stake of approximately 5.3 percent. On the other hand, BNP Paribas, the full owner of the Belgian major bank BNP Paribas Fortis, announced an acceleration of savings in a press release on Wednesday.
The bank further confirms a stable net profit growth trajectory. In 2024, this will be higher than the (distributable) net profit of 2023, it sounds. BNP Paribas further confirms the return targets for the years 2025 and 2026.
This trajectory, in combination with a payout of 60 percent of the profits made, “should enable the group to pay out a total dividend of approximately 20 billion euros from 2024 to 2026”.
In addition, there is an acceleration and broadening of measures to boost operational efficiency. This should generate around 400 million euros annually, bringing the savings target for the period 2022-2025 to 2.7 billion euros.
A significant part of the proposed dividend will flow to the Belgian government treasury. Belgium has a 5.3 percent stake in BNP Paribas, according to the French bank’s website. Our country was the largest shareholder for a long time, but after the sale of part of that interest last year, this is no longer the case. A few years earlier, part of the participation had already been sold. The state became a shareholder in the context of the rescue of the then Fortis in 2008.
BNP Paribas achieved a record net profit of 10.975 billion euros in 2023. (blg)
