SocGen posts second quarterly loss in a row

[PARIS] Societe Generale reported a 1.26 billion euros (S$2.06 billion) second-quarter loss, as it booked a writedown on the value of its trading business and increased provisions for loans that could turn sour because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

France's third-biggest bank said it would reduce the "risk profile" of its trading unit in a shift that will cost it 200-250 million euros in lost revenue, though it pledged to maintain its equity structured products business.

SocGen reported a 15.7 per cent drop in second-quarter revenue to 5.3 billion euros, compared to an average estimate of 5.44 billion euros in a Reuters poll of five analysts.

It said a review of the "financial trajectory" of its Global Markets and Investors Services (GIMS) unit, which includes fixed income and equity trading, led to the impairment of related goodwill for 684 million euros and deferred tax assets for 650 million euros.

REUTERS

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