Societe Generale's Asset, Wealth Arm Sees Record-Breaking AuM In Q3

Josh O'Neill

4 November 2016

’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 , 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.