Archive for Societe General
April 21, 2008 at 9:50 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/17/news/international/SocGen_ceo_stepsdown.fortune/?postversion=2008041716
PARIS (Fortune) — Daniel Bouton will step down as chief executive of Société Générale in May, although he’ll stay on as chairman, the French bank announced Thursday. Bouton, 58, is taking the fall for the bank’s failings in the rogue trading affair involving Jérôme Kerviel, a junior stock arbitrager who ultimately cost the bank $7.5 billion in net losses.
The bank’s announcement came just days after FORTUNE revealed that Bouton had decided not to mention anything about Kerviel or the gargantuan $75 billion open position he had taken in stock index derivatives at a board meeting on Jan. 20, the day he found out about the size of the position. It was only three days later, after the bank had liquidated that position and put in place an $8.5 billion capital increase, that Bouton called an emergency board meeting and disclosed what had happened.
Bouton’s silence was apparently motivated by concern about word leaking. But it’s surprising not just because the bank itself was severely threatened by the crisis - Kerviel’s position was almost double the bank’s equity - but also because the CEO himself is an authority in France on corporate governance. In 2002, he wrote an official report following the Enron scandal that urged French boards to be more transparent and play a larger role in decision-making, especially in tough times.
An interesting article talking about developments at Societe Generale, do check it out.
April 14, 2008 at 10:30 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=63241245980070
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Societe Generale’s planned investment of 50 million to 100 million euros to bolster its internal trading controls after a costly scandal has other banks and analysts wondering why the price of shoring up the bank is that high as indications were that human factors and small errors were largely to blame.
Societe Generale had no immediate comment on how the funds will be spent, although newspaper Le Figaro recently said the group would install software to review trading activity more closely.
The scandal involving alleged unauthorised trading has cost Societe Generale 4.9 billion euros, partly from trades and partly from the unwinding of related market positions. It forced the banking group to raise 5.5 billion euros in new capital.
Sources at other French banks said controls throughout the sector are generally similar and effective if applied in a ‘best practice’ mode.
An interesting article talking about the bank’s planned investment to improve trading controls. Investment in this area can only be a good thing for the shareholders or stakeholders in the business.
April 10, 2008 at 11:03 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VUB7T03.htm
The head of French bank Societe Generale SA said lessons learned from the trader who the bank says cost it more than $7 billion in losses on unauthorized trades are helping strengthen security in the global banking community.
Speaking to members of parliament in his capacity as president of the French Banking Federation, Daniel Bouton said Societe Generale and a number of its competitors are strengthening control systems in the wake of the scandal.
An interesting article talking about what has been learned as a result of the issues reported at Societe Generale - I suspect similar such issues have been noticed and implemented at other banks, as they check to ensure that the right practices and processes are in place to limit loss or liability. Do check it out.
April 10, 2008 at 10:52 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/04/09/afx4870020.html
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Societe Generale said that in the wake of the financial trading scandal that lost it 4.9 billion euros there has been no loss of confidence among the hundreds of financial market participants it deals with.
An interesting article with updates about Societe Generale after the reported losses in recent times. The article talks about business as usual at Societe Generale, which is good news for the shareholders/stakeholders involved, do check it out.
April 9, 2008 at 7:18 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.reuters.com/article/bankingFinancial/idUSL0985287320080409
PARIS (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) is tightening its controls after a rogue-trading scandal that cost it 4.9 billion euros ($7.73 billion), but its chairman said on Wednesday banks remained vulnerable to fraud.
“Fraud has existed in the banking industry since its birth. There have been several fraud cases, and there will be others,” Daniel Bouton told a parliamentary committee investigating the financial crisis that has engulfed the global banking sector.
Business at Soc Gen continues, this article provides an update relating to the reported trading activities that the bank declared several months ago. It mentions that Soc Gen is tightening it’s controls, I suspect that this is something that all the banks are doing to limit liability and ensure compliance regulations.
April 3, 2008 at 11:11 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.reuters.com/article/bankingFinancial/idUSL0378769920080403
PARIS (Reuters) - Jerome Kerviel, at the centre of a rogue trading scandal at French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), has not launched any legal action against his past employer for now, a lawyer representing the former trader said.
“I can tell you that no court proceedings have been launched,” Elisabeth Meyer told Reuters on Thursday.
Asked if Kerviel planned to sue, she added: “No comment.”
Check out this article which is talking about Societe Generale, in the meantime business and revenue generation continues, we’ll have to see if there are any developments in the near future.
March 18, 2008 at 12:18 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3567323.ece
Société Générale faces fresh embarrassment amid claims by Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader who lost €4.9 billion, that colleagues watched as he made unauthorised bets on European stock markets.
Mr Kerviel said he used his manager’s computer to take positions of up to €600 million on occasions.
His manager was present and looking over his shoulder as he did so, the trader told Renaud van Ruymbeke and Francoise Desset, the magistrates leading the inquiry
Mr Kerviel’s comments appear to fly in the face of SocGen’s claims that he was a machiavellian genius who hid his activities from other staff.
An article which is talking about reports/claims relating to the activities in Societe Generale.
March 16, 2008 at 11:58 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VCLPFG0.htm
French judges questioned Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel alongside his former bosses on Thursday about the massive trading losses the bank blames on him, judicial officials said.
Another trader who had worked with Kerviel was released without charge Thursday after being questioned. The employee of the cash equities desk of SG Securities, the branch of SocGen where Kerviel had worked, was detained Wednesday during a search of the bank’s offices.
Two investigating judges are trying to determine what, if anything, Kerviel’s colleagues and superiors knew about his unauthorized trades, which the bank says cost it more than $7 billion.
There have been developments in the Soc Gen activities, in the meantime business continues at Soc Gen. Do check it out.
March 6, 2008 at 11:14 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/caa5cdb4-eaee-11dc-a5f4-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
Crédit Agricole sought to scotch rumours that it would bid for Société Générale, its bigger rival, when its chairman ruled out large acquisitions as it published worse fourth-quarter results than expected on Wednesday.
René Carron, chairman of France’s third biggest bank, pledged that the group, which is still digesting acquisitions made in Spain and Italy “will make organic growth its priority and it is not considering any significant new acquisitions”.
However, Georges Pauget, chief executive, made it clear that the bank would not sit back if SocGen were to become a bid target. He said: “If the French banking landscape were to evolve, we would not be indifferent to that evolution”.
Life at Societe Generale continues, there will no doubt be ongoing speculation for the near future. In the meantime we’ll need to wait and see if there are any announcements, until then life in Societe Generale and it’s competitors continues.
March 2, 2008 at 11:48 pm · Filed under Societe General
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=apV5PCLO.MZI&refer=home
Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) — Societe Generale SA, stung by a 4.9 billion-euro ($7.5 billion) loss on errant trades, gained in Paris trading as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. raised the shares to “overweight,” citing speculation that BNP Paribas SA may bid for the bank.
BNP, France’s largest bank, may be able to pay 83 euros a share in stock for its smaller Paris-based rival, Lehman analysts led by Cyril Meilland in London wrote in a note to clients today.
“Societe Generale might remain independent, but speculation of a bid will likely support the share price,” the analysts wrote. “Poor expected first-quarter and second-quarter earnings publications are likely to be viewed as a catalyst for a bid.”
BNP Paribas spokeswoman Christelle Maldague and Societe Generale spokeswoman Helene Agabriel declined to comment. Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, traveling in South Africa with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, declined to comment on the speculation.
An interesting article about Societe Generale. Regardless of speculation, business at Societe Generale continues. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the near future. Regardless the news of the events at Societe Generale will have affects in all the big banks in the IT Security and compliance areas, as banks look to limit any potential liabilities external or internal.
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