Societe Generale plans possible exit
(20 January 2010 – Australia) French banking operation Societe Generale is contemplating exiting the Australian market altogether within the first half of this year and is in discussions with regulators about the status of its banking licence.
John Harvey, branch chief executive officer for Australia has said that no decision has been made at this point but that a total exit was on the agenda.
Mr Harvey also confirmed that the bank was in talks with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) over the matter.
Societe Generale is in regular dialogue with APRA and the regulator’s position is that the bank should retain its banking licence while continuing banking operations in Australia, said Mr Harvey.
The groups CEO has also said that there will be further reductions over the course of 2010, however at this stage there is no official close date as SocGen continues to operate a substantial business in treasury and equipment finance.
The bank last week flagged investors’ attention telling them not to expect strong fourth quarter results due to risks linked to the US housing market.
The presence of the bank in Australia had been slowly diminishing over the last few years with the group making calls to move some of its operations to Hong Kong.
SocGen, which has been operating in Australia on and off for more than 25 years, reduced the staff at its Sydney based branch by around 30 percent before closing its corporate lending operations in March last year.
At the time the bank told its clients who have existing lending facilities that they would not be renewed when the time comes to roll them over, and that they should seek refinancing elsewhere.
Mr Harvey also confirmed that the bank was in talks with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) over the matter.
Societe Generale is in regular dialogue with APRA and the regulator’s position is that the bank should retain its banking licence while continuing banking operations in Australia, said Mr Harvey.
The groups CEO has also said that there will be further reductions over the course of 2010, however at this stage there is no official close date as SocGen continues to operate a substantial business in treasury and equipment finance.
The bank last week flagged investors’ attention telling them not to expect strong fourth quarter results due to risks linked to the US housing market.
The presence of the bank in Australia had been slowly diminishing over the last few years with the group making calls to move some of its operations to Hong Kong.
SocGen, which has been operating in Australia on and off for more than 25 years, reduced the staff at its Sydney based branch by around 30 percent before closing its corporate lending operations in March last year.
At the time the bank told its clients who have existing lending facilities that they would not be renewed when the time comes to roll them over, and that they should seek refinancing elsewhere.
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