When BNP Paribas announced its second quarter results last week, we observed that things didn’t look great in its M&A business. We might equally have observed the apparent issues in equities sales and trading at the French bank, where things don’t seem to be going entirely to plan.
Equities sales and trading revenues at BNP fell nearly 15% in the second quarter of 2025. The French bank blamed this variously on a “high base” in the previous year’s quarter and “weaker client demand for structured products.” By comparison, it said its equities cash execution business increased revenues in the US, that the prime broking business showed “good resiliency” and that flow trading activities were “very strong.”
Nonetheless, falling revenues are not a good look. Goldman Sachs’ traders generated record $4.3bn equities trading revenues in the second quarter, an increase of 36% on last year. At JPMorgan, revenues were up 16% year-on-year. At BofA and Morgan Stanley they were up 10% and 9% respectively.
BNP Paribas has spent heavily on its equities sales and trading business and is in the process of adding 60 more equities salespeople under Conor Davis, whom it hired from Citi last year. BNP is also adding “dozens” of software engineers to the “army of 500 coders” building its prime broking platform within equities.
While BNP stokes the fires of its equities business, insiders say people are leaving. Joseph Walker, a senior portfolio trader in New York who joined from Deutsche Bank in 2020 is understood to have gone to Barclays. Another senior sales trader in London is understood to have taken a leave of absence for stress and burnout. Paul Reynolds, the London-based global head of advisory for the cash equities business, is retiring.
BNP Paribas declined to comment, as did Barclays’ on Walker’s alleged arrival. It might help if BNP’s new hires arrive soon.
Equities sales and trading has become an unforgiving business for smaller players. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said earlier this month that a successful equities sales and trading business needs “nine boxes:” prime broking, equity derivatives, cash equities, replicated across three regions (North America, EMEA and Asia). None of this comes cheaply. BNP Paribas is spending the money. It has yet to see the results.
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