BNP Paribas seeks new offshore center as bank cuts costs

The Paris-based lender, which has long-standing technical and administrative operations in India and Portugal, is looking to choose a third country to host more middle and back-office staff, people familiar with the plans said. The lender aims to take a decision in the coming months, the people said, requiring anonymity as the plans are not yet public.

BNP Paribas is set to unveil a new strategic plan on February 8 that is expected to facilitate cost-cutting efforts. At the same time, the lender is looking to increase its payout ratio from 50% to 60%, rewarding investors after the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions on dividends.

A spokeswoman for BNP Paribas declined to comment.

The lender had about 10,900 employees in India as of the end of 2020, and about 6,585 in Portugal. Smaller support operations exist in other countries.

Further efforts to cut costs are underway in Italy. BNP’s Italian unit Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA is spinning off its back office and IT activities by selling it to specialized firms that have the advantage of scale, who can make the necessary investments and improve the quality of service for customers. , which according to knowledgeable people is the case.

BNL has entered into separate agreements to sell the IT business to Capgemini SE and back office operations to Accenture plc, the people asked not to be named as the process is private. As part of the agreement, about 900 employees will move to the new entities and the Italian bank has signed outsourcing agreements to receive services from them.

For the first time since the 1990s, BNL employees went on strike on December 27 to protest the reduction of back-office and IT staff. A new strike is scheduled for January 24, the unions said in a statement.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.