BNP Paribas Bank Polska's profit exceeds expectations in first quarter

BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA

07/05/2026 06:27

May 7 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas Bank Polska BNP1.WA reported a first-quarter profit that exceeded market expectations on Thursday, despite nearly halving from a year ago due to lower interest rates and elevated regulatory costs.

Polish banks face dual pressure on profitability, as a sharp hike in corporate income tax for 2026 coincides with falling net interest income, the sector's main revenue source, following the central bank's rate cuts.

Net profit fell more than 49% to 375.3 million zlotys ($104.2 million), while analysts polled by the bank were expecting 331 million zlotys on average

Net interest income fell 3.2% to 1.45 billion zlotys, slightly above expectations of 1.43 billion zlotys

Lower loan profitability was partly offset by reduced deposit costs, higher gains on securities and improved income from hedging derivatives

Net fee and commission income fell 3.9% to 314.7 million zlotys versus a forecast of 319 million zlotys

The decline was driven mainly by lower income from payment and credit cards, after the year-ago quarter was lifted by a one-off positive impact from settlements with card institutions

The lender said that persistently high liquidity in the Polish market is a key sector headwind, fuelling price competition and putting margins under pressure

The bank also flagged the Middle East conflict as a key external factor weighing on the results

It cited a 21 million zloty geopolitical provision and a war-related upward shift in yield curves that hit trading income

BNP Paribas Bank Polska is a unit of France's BNP Paribas BNPP.PA, which last week reported a forecast-beating 9% rise in Q1 profit driven by its retail bank

(Reporting by Rafal Nowak in Gdansk
Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63;))