BNP Paribas profit tops estimates on lower costs and global banking

BNP Paribas reported a fall in first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday but beat analyst forecasts, as lower expenses and a strong performance in its corporate banking business offset flat or falling revenues elsewhere. The euro zone's biggest bank said group net income over the first three months of the year declined by 2.2% from a year earlier to 3.10 billion euros ($3.31 billion), beating the 2.4 billion-euro average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by the company. Revenues over the period came in at 12.5 billion euros, down 0.4% but also above the average analyst estimate of 12.2 billion euros.