(Bloomberg) – Société Générale SA sells most of its Moroccan business to Saham Group in a 745 million euro ($798 million) deal, Chief Executive Sławomir Krupa streamlines the lender. Accelerate (CEO) plans.
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg
The Paris-based bank has reached an agreement to sell its stake in Société Générale Marocaine de Banque and its subsidiary, insurance company La Marocaine Vie, the Paris-based bank said in a statement on Friday.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year and will result in an approximately 15 basis point increase in SocGen's CET1 ratio, an important measure of financial strength. The French lender will take an accounting hit of 75 million euros in first-quarter earnings.
SocGen shares rose as much as 3.9% in Paris trading on Friday.
This is the second major disposal SocGen has announced this week, and signals an acceleration of Krupa's plans to shore up the company's finances by selling off unprofitable divisions. The CEO, who has been working to restore investor confidence, announced on Thursday that he had agreed to sell SocGen's equipment finance business for 1.1 billion euros.
Krupa, who took over last year with a mission to raise the company's lagging valuation, has pledged to cut costs by 1.7 billion euros and bring the company's cost-to-income ratio below 60% by 2026. Earlier this year, the lender announced plans to cut about 900 jobs at its headquarters.
He is still considering the disposal of custodian business SGSS, German consumer business Hansa Bank, British private banking unit Kleinwort Hambros and its Swiss private banking assets.
(Updates sharing in 4th paragraph.)
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP
