(AOF) – Societe Generale, after having received all the necessary authorizations from the supervisory authorities, launched, on December 20, 2021, a program to buy back 5,534,365 ordinary shares of the bank in order to cover the commitments to grant free Societe Generale shares for the benefit of its employees and the group’s executive corporate officers. This takeover ended on the evening of January 14, 2022.
AOF – LEARN MORE
Key points
– Bank born in 1864, one of the leading European financial services groups;
– Net banking income of €24.67 billion generated by retail banking in France – Societe Generale and Boursorama brands, international retail banking, financial services and insurance, then wholesale banking and investor solutions ;
– Business model claiming the vanguard of positive transformations: a 100% digitized bank, open platforms and architectures, a winner in the race for European leadership;
– Capital characterized by the presence of employee shareholders (6.17% and 10.9% of voting rights), with a 12-member Board of Directors chaired by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Frédéric Oudéa being Chief Executive Officer;
– Solid balance sheet with €69 billion in equity and a CET 1 ratio of 13.4% at the end of September 2021.
Challenges
– Vision 2025 strategy, based on the merger with Crédit du Nord, local roots, responsiveness, adaptation to customer needs and responsibility;
– Innovation strategy rooted in the group’s DNA, articulated between the integration of artificial intelligence and data in all branches, open innovation to transform business models by branch and offer services with external partners and, finally, anticipation in terms of agility and speed: internal innovation grouped together on the Les Dunes site / open innovation – aid for financial start-ups and incubators;
– Environmental strategy aiming to become the world leader in sustainable finance via the new dedicated CSR department: objective of €120 billion in financing for the energy transition in 2023 by stopping, since 2017, financing dedicated to coal-fired power plants or associated infrastructure and through innovation in “green” credit products / environmental and social analysis of financed companies and advice to ETIs in financing the energy transition / strengthening of SRI savings offers / 2 priorities: climate change and support for sustainable development in Africa / 10% reduction in exposure to the oil/gas extraction sector by 2025;
– Execution of the profitable growth strategy for the Large Customers division aiming for a profitability of more than 10% by 2023.
Many challenges for European banks
The European retail banking model is particularly challenged by the rise of digital technology. Some are withdrawing from this activity, as is the case with HSBC. Added to this is an increase in risks. Thus, according to the ECB, the strong activity of the big banks on the market for leveraged transactions and the markets for derivative products linked to equities expose them to excessive risk-taking.
As for French banks, since the health crisis, they are increasingly exposed to cyber risk following the need to switch massively and quickly from financial activities to teleworking and the provision of remote services.