French BNP Paribas bank sees no need of recapitalization

France's biggest bank BNP Paribas on Tuesday dismissed any need to recapitalize its funds after turbulent markets provoked a sharp fall in banking shares. "We are in a situation where, due to states' difficulties in terms of their debt, there is an impact in ... banks, but banks are doing well," Michel Pebereau, BNP Paribas chairman, told local broadcaster RTL. "We don't need any kind of aid. Currently, we have no need to be recapitalized", he said in the interview. Asked about a possible Greek default, Peberau said "this is not the opinion of the states who are responsible of this issue." As to ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrade of Italy debt rating, Pebereau played down its impact on BNL, the French bank's subsidiary in Rome as "Italy ...w ill face its debt ... The recovery plan which has been approved by the parliament is serious." BNP Paribas, whose ratings remain on review, saw its exposure to Greek sovereign debt representing 4 billion euros (5.47 billion U.S. dollars) in its balance sheet. The bank pledged to sell 70 billion euros (95.85 billion dollars) of risk-weighted assets to abate a major selloff of its stocks. Amid a sharp drop of bank shares on Monday, BNP Paribas reported 5.48-percent fall with a share price at 26.65 euros (36.48 dollars).