BNP Paribas’ investment bank, the focus of an ongoing cost-cutting programme at the group, has delivered a strong third quarter in which bond-trading revenues rose by more than a third.

The French bank said on October 31 that group net profits for the third quarter were €1.94bn, down 8.8% year on year but better than analyst forecasts. Revenues of €10.9bn were up 5.3%.