Reports
Societe Generale's Asset, Wealth Arm Sees Record-Breaking AuM In Q3
The French group's asset and wealth management business reported an all-time high for assets under management.
Societe
Generale’s asset and wealth management arm reported a
record €118.9 billion ($131.6 billion) of assets under management
at the end of the third quarter of 2016, while net banking income
remained stable compared with the same period last year.
For the first nine months of this year, the
Paris-headquartered bank said the division’s net banking income
was down 8.2 per cent year-on-year at €256 million due to the
fallout of an uncertain market and weak transactional
activity.
Despite this, assets under management were propelled by inflows
of €3.3 billion, most notably in France and the UK. The
acquisition of Kleinwort
Benson spurred a 6 per cent rise in AuM compared with
the first nine months of last year, the company said.
Although the private banking unit’s net banking income increased
2 per cent to €209 million versus the third quarter of 2015, it
sank 5.9 per cent in the first nine months of this year as an
unfavourable market environment led to clients taking a
“wait-and-see” approach, Societe Generale said.
The firm said gross margins held up well at 103 basis points.
Lyxor
Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Societe Generale group,
reported a 2.4 per cent drop in AuM, at €103.2 billion at the end
of the third quarter. Its net banking income amounted to €42
million, down 4.5 per cent year-on-year, or 20.9 per cent lower
compared with the first nine months of 2015.
Group net income was up 39 per cent at €1.25 billion compared
with the third quarter of last year.
"The group is pursuing its trajectory in a disciplined manner,
with a view to winning new customers and enhancing its added
value offering, notably by integrating digital technologies,
while at the same time rigorously managing its costs and risks
and strengthening its balance sheet," said Frédéric Oudéa,
Societe Generale's chief executive.
Last month, Societe Generale announced plans to cut its private banking team in Switzerland as part of a shift in activities from Lausanne to its new Swiss base in Geneva. The bank is reported to be cutting around 80 of the 420 jobs within the Swiss private banking business.
