SocGen profit tops forecast but France lags

Société Générale, France’s third-biggest listed bank, joined European rivals in posting a higher than expected net income in the third quarter as market volatility boosted trading revenues.

SocGen, which has appointed the head of its investment banking division as its new CEO from May 2023, said net income had come in at €1.5 billion – well above a Refinitiv consensus forecast of €1 billion.

The beat was driven by a 12 per cent increase in global market revenues, led by thriving trading in fixed income and currencies. This helped offset a decline in deal-making and share sales which weighed on investment banking.

SocGen also said its car leasing business, ALD, had performed strongly over the period, and that its online bank Boursorama – France’s biggest – had seen a 40 per cent jump in the number of clients compared to a year ago, thanks to a partnership with ING.

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Overall revenues edged 2.3 per cent higher, held back by a decline in the net interest income – the difference between what banks receive from borrowers and pay out to depositors – in SocGen’s France retail business, though that drop was smaller than analysts had expected.

French lenders traditionally take longer than their continental peers to reap the benefits of rising interest rates, though SocGen’s bigger domestic rival BNP Paribas, which reported results on Thursday, is doing better on this front.

This is because more than 90 per cent of French mortgages are on fixed rates. And the remuneration rate on popular savings accounts such as Livret A is regulated by the government, which also limits how quickly banks can reprice loans to customers.

Rising rates as central banks across the globe seek to contain inflation have helped European banks including HSBC, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit report strong results for the quarter.

SocGen’s investment banking boss Slawomir Krupa had been chosen by the board to become its next chief executive, succeeding veteran banker Frederic Oudea who is stepping down next year. Mr Krupa was one of two internal candidates for the job alongside the head of retail banking.

The bank, which has seen a series of high-profile departures in recent weeks, said on Thursday it had appointed a new chief of risk. – Reuters