A strong rebound in investment banking profits drove better-than-expected third-quarter results at BNP Paribas on Thursday, as France’s biggest bank reaped the benefits from its recent acquisition of Fortis bank.

BNP Paribas reported net profit of €1.3bn ($1.9bn) in the three months to the end of September – up 45 per cent on the same quarter last year – of which €277m was contributed by the core of Fortis, the Belgian bank acquired this year.