The Societe Generale group saw its net profit almost double over one year in the third quarter of 2021, to 1.6 billion euros, achieving the best quarter in its history, according to figures released Thursday, November 4 by the bank.
Net banking income, equivalent to turnover for the sector, for its part increased by 14.9% to 6.67 billion euros.
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Frédéric Oudéa, CEO of the group, praised in the press release an “
excellent
”
quarter
with “
high commercial and financial performance in all businesses
”.
Activity by activity, the net profit of retail banking in France stood at 451 million euros (+ 59% over one year), that of the retail banking and international financial services activity at 584 million (+ 73%) and that of its corporate and investment bank, dedicated to companies and institutions, to 563 million (+ 48%).
Merger of Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord branches
The cost of risk is "
still low
", according to the group with the red and black logo, at 196 million euros, against 518 million between July and September 2020. At the end of September, the hard equity ratio, a key indicator for measuring bank strength, stood at over 13%, well above regulatory requirements of around 9%. Over nine months, net banking income amounted to nearly 19.2 billion euros, an increase of almost 18% over one year, for a net profit of about 3.9 billion euros.
Over the first nine months of 2020, Societe Generale recorded a net loss of 728 million euros, penalized in particular by the Covid-19 crisis, before recovering.
The proposed merger of the Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord branches, presented last month, is progressing "in
accordance with the announced schedule
", the group also said in its press release.
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The merger of the networks is to begin in 2023 and will lead to the elimination of 3,700 jobs by 2025 and the scheduled end of the operation.
As announced at the beginning of the year, Societe Generale will initiate this Thursday a share buyback program for an amount of 470 million euros, the finalization of which is expected at the end of the year.