BNP Paribas, France's largest bank by market capitalization, has announced plans to pull back from Ukraine.

Its chief financial executive Lars Machenil however added BNP does not mull leaving other countries to the east of Europe, such as Turkey and Poland, website Investor.bg reports.

Earlier, officials from the bank had said that by 2015, 84 branches are to be closed and 1600 job cuts made in the country.

Ukraine's crisis following a change of power and the incorporation of its Crimean peninsula into Russia has led many international businesses and investors to reconsider their activities in the country.

Last week experts quoted by Die Welt predicted that French banks could suffer the most from a prolonged conflict and sanctions against Russia that are being debated at a EU-level.

Machenil also explained that, although its main financial activities are focused on the US, Asia and Germany, BNP Paribas is considering an expansion in Poland and Turkey "in the medium to long term".

The bank also has branches in Bulgaria, where net profit was BGN 165 000 in 2013, raising its assets to more than BGN 453 M.

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