BNP Paribas produced evidence that it is riding out the market downturn better than many of its competitors by posting relatively small decline in profits in the second quarter and first half of the year.

The bank as a whole suffered a relatively mild 7.1% drop in second quarter net income, to €1.2bn ($1.1bn) and while its investment banking businesses reported bigger profit falls, they remained near the top of the market relative to their competitors.