Societe Generale

 

 

Established in the year 1864, the Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) is a leading financial services institution in Paris, France. It is the third largest corporate and investment bank in the Eurozone. In terms of market capitalization, it ranks as the sixth largest French company. Known as SocGen in financial circles, the bank employs more than 160,000 professionals in 82 countries around the world. It is ranked AA by Standard & Poor’s, Aa2 by Moody’s Investors, and AA- by Fitch.[br]

In Jan 2008, the bank was rocked by a trading scandal during the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. Jerome Kerviel, a futures trader, is alleged to have committed a fraud by orchestrating a series of bogus transactions. The bank sustained losses of more than $7.2 million. This scandal overshadowed Nick Leeson’s fraudulent activity at Barings Bank, which had forced the bank to go out of business.

Societe Generale: Key Businesses

Some of its key businesses include:

Retail Banking and financial services: The Societe Generale’s retail banking and financial services operates through two distribution networks, namely,

• Société Générale

• Crédit du Nord representing a total of 3,000 branches and 9.6 million individual customers.

The SocGen’s international retail banking is evident across 36 countries with more than 60000 employees serving more than 12 million individual customers and over 800000 companies.

Global Investment Management and Services: The SocGen’s Global Investment Management and Services (GIMS) employ more than 11000 professionals worldwide and have:

• € 333bn in assets under management

• € 2,906bn in assets under custody

• € 10.2bn in assets from online banking

GIMS has five primary business verticals:

·        Société Générale Asset Management

·        SG Private Banking

·        Société Générale Securities Services

·        Newedge (multi asset brokerage business)

·        Boursorama (Online banking)[br]

Corporate and Investment Banking: The Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) offer global solutions for:

·        Capital raising

·        Financing

·        Risk management

·        Investment

The SocGen’s CIB has assets worth €4 billion and was named the Best Equity Derivatives Provider in 2008 by Global Finance. The SocGen’s CIB has businesses spanning Europe, North America, and Asia. Its three strategic operational arms include:

·        Investment Banking

·        Global Finance

·        Global Markets

Further, SocGen’s CIB’s M&A provides a comprehensive range of financial and advisory services backed by in depth industry knowledge and provide expertise in various industry verticals such as retail, energy, technology, financial services and healthcare.