BNP cuts payouts as Europe's banks suffer bonus ire

By Olesya Dmitracova and Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON/PARIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - France's BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) slashed 2008 bonuses for its investment bankers by 70 percent, following similar cuts by European rivals as public anger mounts over bankers' role in the credit crisis.

BNP's corporate and investment bank (CIB) on Thursday reported a a 2.07 billion euro ($2.61 billion) pretax loss for the October-December period and a 1.19 billion euro loss for the full year.

That was part of a 1.97 billion euro pretax quarterly loss at the group, or a 1.37 billion euro net loss. [ID:nL0192620]

"Bonuses overall in CIB have gone down by 70 percent from 2007 to 2008," BNP Paribas Chief Executive Baudouin Prot told reporters at the bank's results conference.

Politicians, shareholders and taxpayers across Europe have called on banks to cut bonuses for the disastrous 2008, especially at those banks that have taken government help to survive the financial crisis, including BNP, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and UBS (UBSN.VX).

UBS said it will reduce 2008 bonuses at its investment bank by more than 80 percent. Barclays (BARC.L), which has raised funds privately, said it would more than halve 2008 payouts at its investment bank arm.

RESHAPING CIB