BNP Paribas expects end to trading boom, Covid-19 loan pain to ease

BNP Paribas warned investors on Friday that a debt-trading bonanza that supported its earnings last year was unlikely to last, though the worst of the global coronavirus crisis was over for its loan book.
 

Provisions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic took their toll on fourth-quarter net profit, with the lender saying it had set aside more money to cover loans that could turn sour.
 

But the eurozone's biggest listed bank struck a more upbeat note for 2021. It said it expects the cost of risk, which reflects provisions for bad loans, to drop from 2020 levels as the outlook improves