BNP targets annual growth above six percent for investment bank

PARIS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas , France's biggest listed bank, said its investment bank would post a compound annual growth rate of over 6 percent over the next three years as part of a plan to expand outside Europe and boost product cross-selling. It also said it had increased its Asia staff by 400 net as part of a hiring spree to increase exposure to Asia Pacific. BNP, which is holding an investor day in Paris, reiterated targets for a double-digit percentage rise in earnings over the next three years and an increase in the dividend payout to 45 percent of earnings by 2016 from 41 percent in 2013. The bank is targeting a 10 percent return on equity (ROE) by 2016. By comparison, French rival Societe Generale expects to reach an ROE of 10 percent by 2015, a year earlier than BNP, while UBS and Deutsche Bank are respectively targeting 15 percent in 2016 and 12 percent in 2015. (Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Editing by Natalie Huet)