The French banking group reported a rise in AuM at the unit containing wealth management; revenues fell at the wealth and asset management business in Q2.

Assets under management at the wealth, asset management and insurance arm of Paris-listed BNP Paribas rose by 5.9 per cent from the end of last year reaching €1.089 trillion (about $1.21 trillion) at 30 June, driven by rising financial markets and asset inflows.

The group logged net asset inflws of €10.3 billion in the half-year period, with strong results in the wealth business in Asia, France and Belgium. There were also inflows into the asset management and insurance businesses, as well as a positive impact (+€1.8 billion) from foreign exchange movements over the reporting period, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Within the specific wealth management business, AuM stood at €380 billion.

Wealth and asset management’s revenues in the second quarter of this year (€795 million) dropped by 4.7 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2018 due to the unfavourable base comparison effect at real estate services last year, in spite of a slight overall increase at asset management and wealth Management.

Operating costs fell by 1.2 per cent in wealth and asset management, standing at €632 million.

At €177 million, wealth and asset management’s pre-tax income in the second quarter of 2019, after receiving one-third of the net income of private banking in the domestic markets in Turkey and in the US, contracted by 13.8 per cent from a year earlier.