
Today, the 57-year-old not only presides over the online business, which serves more than a million European customers, but is also head of BNP Paribas Personal Investors. The latter, which consists of Cortal Consors in Europe and Geojit BNP Paribas in India and the Middle East, had net revenue from brokerage operations of €30 million in the first quarter, up 29 percent from a year earlier. Le Grand points to “a very nice recovery in online trading” in Europe, with net revenue up 27 percent.
The fastest-growing market, with 45 percent net revenue growth, was India, where BNP Paribas became the lead shareholder of Geojit Financial Services in 2007. Between 2007 and 2009, the Indian brokerage’s trades increased 52 percent, to 55.6 million, with 25 to 30 percent taking place over the Internet, says Le Grand.
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