BNP Paribas backed its guidance for 2024 as it reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings with strong results across its divisions that offset some weakness in its capital markets investment and financing unit.

The French lender — which is the largest in the eurozone by market capitalisation — said that its net profit for the three months ended 31 March slipped 2.2% on-year to €3.10bn. Analysts estimates taken from a consensus compiled by Visible Alpha had the figure at €2.20bn.