(Bloomberg) -- BNP Paribas SA beat analysts’ estimates in a volatile second quarter as income from lending rose and a push to expand the equities business lifted the trading result.

An 11% jump at the unit that houses BNP’s retail operations helped the lender beat analyst estimates for revenue and profit, according to a statement Friday. In the investment bank, equities trading rose 16%, double what the biggest Wall Street banks reported, after a series of deals to make BNP one of the top European firms in that business.

Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe has used the financial strength of BNP, one of the biggest and most valuable banks in the region, to bulk up as rivals struggled with negative rates. After agreeing to sell his firm’s US arm, he’s well positioned to deploy excess capital for more deals as rising borrowing costs make banking in Europe profitable again.

Bloomberg reported last month that BNP is among lenders who have expressed interest in a potential acquisition of ABN Amro Bank NV, the Dutch consumer lender that’s been government-owned since the financial crisis.

Under Bonnafe, BNP has already struck deals to take on Deutsche Bank AG’s prime brokerage assets as well as hedge funds clients from Credit Suisse Group AG. The bank also agreed to buy the stake it didn’t already own in Exane SA.

That paid off as revenue from equities trading rose to 878 million euros in the second quarter, beating analyst estimates as well as its biggest peers. Fixed-income trading also beat estimates, though it fell short of the 30% plus gains at peers including Deutsche Bank.

With deals and capital raisings almost grounding to a halt worldwide, BNP’s corporate banking unit was the one investment banking unit to fall short of estimates, if only slightly. The business usually contributes roughly a third of the top line at the securities unit.

BNP’s Commercial, Personal Banking and Services unit, which includes its retail and specialized services such as leasing, saw its revenue rise 11%, driven by rising volumes of loans outstanding and deposits across most of its units.

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