Q4 net profit down 6.7, below Refinitiv consensus
Confident on risk management, raises 2025 targets
Plans 5 bln euros worth of share buybacks in 2023
Shares down by more than 1

PARIS, Feb 7 Reuters Shares in BNP Paribas fluctuated between red and green territory in early trading on Tuesday after the euro zone39;s biggest bank raised its 2025 targets but missed market expectations for the fourth quarter.

BNP39;s stock was edging up 0.6 at 0822 GMT, reversing course soon after market open.

The euro zone39;s biggest lender39;s earnings were dragged down by a jump in the funds it set aside for bad loans and higher costs offset a boom in trading sales.

The bank39;s more profitable trading business performed well, with a 24 rise in global markets revenue, as market volatility boosted trading in commodity derivatives, rates, foreign exchange and emerging markets.

Under Chief Executive JeanLaurent Bonnafe, BNP has been growing securities trading, in part taking advantage of rivals39; retrenchment as Wall Street firms from Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley axe jobs amid a slump in dealmaking.

BNP39;s solvency ratio has notably benefited from the 16.3 billion sale of the group39;s U.S. retail business Bank of the West. The transaction, closed on Feb. 1, will fund the bulk of the share buyback, that will be carried out in two tranches.

With the proceeds from the U.S. sale and expectations of more than 2 billion euros in added revenue from interest rate rises, the bank now…