BNP Paribas has means to save jobs, says auditor

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By Lionel Laurent and Matthieu Protard
PARIS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - France's biggest listed bank, BNP Paribas, could save jobs and soften the pain of its investment-banking cutbacks by scrapping its dividend for 2011, according to an auditor's report obtained by Reuters.
BNP is eyeing almost 1,400 staff cuts at its corporate and investment bank as part of a plan to scale back lending in the face of the euro zone debt crisis and to cut hundreds of billions of euros from its balance sheet.
The bank has started to restructure its real-estate lending and its leasing divisions and is planning a global retrenchment in corporate and investment banking (CIB), like many European banks, audit firm Ethix said in a report sent to employee representatives.
However, unlike less financially robust domestic rivals Societe Generale and Credit Agricole, BNP has refused to rule out paying a dividend for 2011. Management has so far only said that it will be reduced.
Such a decision may please shareholders but also means employees will feel the full brunt of the cutbacks, according to Ethix. In keeping with French practice, the audit firm has been appointed to analyse the plan and assist unions in talks with management.
"(Scrapping the dividend) would allow for a less drastic restructuring of the corporate and investment bank and fewer job cuts," said the Ethix report, which estimated 170 French staff could be saved as a result.