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| | Acquisitions help BNP's net rise 56% |
 | | PARIS BNP Paribas, the French banking giant, said Thursday that its first-quarter profit rose 56 percent from a year earlier, lifted by U.S. acquisitions, a drop in provisions for bad loans and the sale of a stake in a construction company. |
 | | Growth was also strong at BNP's French retail bank, as modest interest rates, a BNP sales push and efforts by French people to save for retirement drove sales of mortgages, small-business loans and life insurance policies, lifting revenue from transaction fees. |
 | | BNP is bolstering its position via a joint bid for the French retailer Galeries Lafayette with a key family shareholder. |
| www.iht.com /articles/2005/05/12/business/bnp.php (413 words) |
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