The banking group Societe Generale improved its revenue forecast for 2021 after recording a net profit of 1.44 billion euros in the second quarter, its best performance since 2016.
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After its competitor BNP Paribas, which garnered 2.9 billion euros in net profit in the second quarter, Societe Generale has shown that the rebound observed in previous quarters, after a very complicated start to 2020, was not temporary.
Building on this result, "
the group is improving its annual forecasts by now forecasting growth in revenues across all of its businesses and a cost of risk revised downwards in an environment that is still uncertain but with an improving economic outlook
", specifies the press release released on Tuesday.
Previously, the bank with the red and black logo had doubts about the growth of its retail banking activity in France for the year 2021, and the downward revision of the cost of risk is in the order of 500 million. euros.
All of the group's businesses have benefited from the improvement
A year ago, in the second quarter of 2020, Societe Generale had recorded a net loss of 1.26 billion euros, after a loss of 326 million euros in the first quarter, and before a rebound in the second half.
With a net profit of 814 million euros in the first quarter of 2021, Societe Generale therefore achieves a net profit of 2.25 billion euros over the first six months of the year.
The result illustrates "
the strength of the business model and the group's ability to rebound
," said Frédéric Oudéa, the managing director quoted in the press release.
The good performance of the second quarter also made the semester the best for five years.
All of the group's businesses benefited from the improvement: retail banking saw its net profit multiplied by more than 7 in the second quarter over one year, the retail banking and international financial services activity by 2.3, and the Corporate and investment bank, which had recorded heavy losses last year, returned to the green, with a net profit of 522 million euros.
The group's net banking income, equivalent to turnover for the sector, amounted to 6.26 billion euros in the second quarter, an increase of 18.2% over one year.
Read also: Societe Generale wants to reduce its exposure to market risks
Like other banking establishments, Societe Generale has significantly reduced its cost of risk to deal with possible accidents in the repayment of the loans it has granted. Last year, the Covid-19 crisis and uncertainties for the economy had led the entire sector to heavily stock their reserves in the event of possible hard knocks.