Societe Generale's car-leasing returns dwarf banking

Paris

TO find Societe Generale SA's most profitable business, don't look to its trading floors or executive suites in Paris or London, but to gritty parking lots in Lyon, Helsinki and Sao Paulo.

France's No 2 bank, whose mathematical prowess made it a world leader in equity derivatives, generates its best returns from a more prosaic business: leasing fleets of vehicles.

The development of the car-leasing operation and its growing importance to Societe Generale show how some European lenders are looking outside traditional banking as tougher capital requirements and record-low interest rates sap returns. BNP Paribas SA and Banco Santander SA have also in…