Although markets slid last year, the AuM figure at the French group's private bank went down only relatively modestly from a year before.

Societe Generale today said that its private banking arm, which was folded into the French retail banking business at the start of 2022, logged total assets under management of €147 billion ($157.8 billion) at the end of last year, down from €150 billion a year earlier. 

The group said it booked asset inflow growth of 4 per cent last year against the end of 2021, according to a statement today.

Net banking income at SocGen’s private banking group was €296 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, rising 7.6 per cent on the same period a year ago; for the full year, the figure was €1.278 billion, up 15.9 per cent year-on-year.

The Paris-based firm said that private banking revenues in Q4 2022 totalled €2.219 billion, stable versus a year ago. Net interest income and other revenues weakened 1.8 per cent, it said.

Across the whole Societe Generale group, it logged an underlying group net income of €1.126 billion in the final quarter of last year, down from €1.226 billion a year earlier. The bank had a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard way of measuring a lender’s capital buffer – of 13.5 per cent, about 420 basis points above regulatory requirements. The bank confirmed 2025 financial targets including its aim of having a cost/income ratio below 62 per cent and expected profitability of 10 per cent.

“2022 marked a decisive stage for the group, which was able to deliver record underlying performances while adapting itself swiftly and efficiently to an uncertain and complex environment. Throughout the year, the group made major strategic progress that has unlocked value,” Fréderic Oudéa, the group’s chief executive, said.