SocGen leaves the door open for further acquisitions

French lender Societe Generale could make further acquisitions in the coming years as part of its transformation plan, the bank’s deputy chief executive told CNBC.

SocGen announced in early July the acquisition of the equity markets and commodities activities of Commerzbank. The decision was part of the bank’s 2016-2020 strategic plan to improve the business. Severin Cabannes, deputy CEO of Societe Generale, said that this deal should be approved by all the relevant authorities “by the end of this year.”

“At the end of this integration process, the positive impact on our gross operating income is expected to be around 150 million euros ($174.6 million),” Cabannes told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche, speaking about the impact of the deal on the bank’s business.

He also said that there could be further bolt-on acquisitions in the coming years, “but globally speaking it would be limited.”

SocGen reported Thursday a net income of 1.16 billion euros ($1.35 billion) for the second quarter of the year — a 9.3 percent increase from the 1.06 billion euros seen a year ago.

Its retail banking activity in France saw a slight decline in revenues compared to last year, due to the low interest rate environment. This arm of the business reported a revenue of about 2 billion euros — a 1.7 percent drop from the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, its international retail banking and financial services arm reported a revenue growth of 2.1 billion euros — a 5.4 percent increase from a year ago.

Cabannes told CNBC that he is still confident on the macroeconomic front in Europe, even if volatility remains low. He also said the latest results showed a “solid performance in all our business lines.”

Source: CNBC