2012.05.09 18:15:07 Natixis Profit Hit By Own Debt Charge

By Noemie Bisserbe Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS (Dow Jones)--French bank Natixis (KN.FR) said Wednesday it was on track to meet Europe's new stringent capital rules, even as it reported that an accounting charge against the value of its own debt contributed to a 55% fall in first-quarter net profit. "We have continued to reduce, as indicated, our risk-weighted assets and the liquidity requirements of our businesses, further reinforcing our solvency in preparation for the transition to Basel III," said Chief Executive Laurent Mignon in a statement. Natixis, which is majority owned by French mutual bank Groupe BPCE, said net profit in the three months to the end of March fell to EUR185 million from EUR412 million a year earlier. Total revenue fell 10% to EUR1.47 billion. It took a EUR202 million hit in the quarter on its own senior debt because of a rule that requires banks to book a loss if the price of their debt rises Natixis, France's fourth-largest listed bank, said its core Tier 1 ratio, made up of top quality capital such as equity and retained profit, was 10.6% at the end of the quarter. Natixis is the corporate, investment and financial services arm of its parent, which is France's second-largest lender by bank deposits. The bank, born from the merger of the asset management and investment banking operations of Natexis Banque Populaire, and Groupe Caisse d'Epargne's IXIS, suffered badly in 2008 after being hit hard by the financial crisis. After it was rescued by a government-backed merger of its retail cooperative parents, the bank launched a restructuring plan to scale back its balance sheet and ride out the credit crunch. Its larger listed rivals BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR), Societe Generale SA (GLE.FR) and Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) followed later with their own restructuring plans when the European debt crisis unfolded last year. Natixis's shares closed down 3% Wednesday at EUR2.15, giving the bank a market value of EUR6.62 billion. -By Noemie Bisserbe, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1756; noemie.bisserbe@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 09, 2012 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)