The rush does not stop Société Générale at the Paris Stock Exchange. The title of the third French bank chaired by the Italian Lorenzo Bini Smaghi gained 11% of its value yesterday and today at mid-morning it advanced by a further 4,25% reaching 27,49 euros per share, its highest since June. The rally was based on excellent third quarter results, but above all the management reorganization which has convinced investors and analysts. The latter, in particular, speak of a “real turning point” for the group, after the difficulties experienced in the last period.
The reorganization at the top of Société Générale
The CEO of Société Générale Slawomir Krupa has implemented the largest reorganization of the group since the announcement of the strategic plan in September 2023. In detail, starting from 7 January 2025, Leopold Alvear, CFO of Sabadell, will take over the position of dfinancial director replacing the current Claire Dumas.
The same Krupa takes direct oversight of Retail Banking activities in France (SG Network and BoursoBank), Private Banking and Insurance, in order to revive the business after the difficulties experienced in the recent past. “I am not trying to prove anything to anyone,” explained the manager. “In the retail sector, things are changing, but it was necessary to change the team,” he added.
Moving forward with the changes, as established, Philippe Aymerich to step down as deputy CEO and will give up responsibility for retail activities in France (now held by Krupa), with the appointment of two new co-heads to manage the retail network in the country. In particular, Bertrand Cozzarolo and Thierry Le Marre are appointed Co-Heads of the SG Retail Banking network in France, effective November 1, 2024. Mathieu Vedrenne he was instead appointed Head of Private Banking activities, also starting from 1 November 2024.
Société Générale: profit quadrupled in the third quarter
The announcement of the reorganization of the group's top management, which was accompanied by the presentation of excellent quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations, thanks to the recovery of retail activity in France. In detail, in the three months from June to September, Société Générale's profit quadrupled, rising from 295 million in the same period of the previous year to 1,37 billion on September 30, equal to a ROTE of 9,6%. Profits exceeded analysts' estimates, equal to 1,22 billion euros.
Revenues are also growing, rose 6,8% to 10,8 billion, driven in particular by the strong rebound in net interest income in France, in line with the year-end estimate, and another solid performance by Global Banking and Investor Solutions, particularly in Equities and Transaction Banking. Also Investment bank beats expectations, thanks to a 10% increase in trading revenues compared to the previous year. In addition, the bank's Cet1 capital ratio stood at 13,2%, above the 2026 target.
“We are posting solid quarterly results that continue to show a strong improvement. This demonstrates that we are executing on our strategic plan which is impacting our results in a positive and tangible way – he commented CEO Slawomir Krupa – Our revenues are up thanks to the solid performance of our businesses with a strong rebound in net interest income in France and another strong contribution from Global Banking and Investor Solutions. Operating expenses are stable and the cost of risk is contained. We are seeing a clear improvement in our cost/income ratio and profitability, and our capital ratio continues to strengthen.”
