In a €745 million ($798 million) deal, Societe Generale SA is selling the bulk of its Moroccan business to Saham Group. The Paris-based bank has reached an agreement for the sale of its stake in Societe Generale Marocaine de Banques, its subsidiaries and stakes in insurance firm La Marocaine Vie. This move accelerates Chief Executive Officer Slawomir Krupa’s plan to streamline the lender.
The French lender will take an accounting hit of €75 million on its first-quarter earnings as a result of this deal. However, it is expected to result in a gain of about 15 basis points in SocGen’s CET1 ratio, a key measure of financial strength. This is the second major disposal announced by SocGen this week, indicating that Krupa’s plan to offload less profitable units and strengthen the firm’s finances is gaining momentum.
Krupa has been working to regain investor confidence since assuming the CEO position last year with a mandate to improve its lagging valuation. He has committed to cutting expenses by €1.7 billion by 2026 and reducing the firm’s cost-to-income ratio to below 60%. Earlier this year, the lender announced plans to cut about 900 jobs at its head office.
While Krupa has already sold off non-core businesses such as his equipment finance business for €1.1 billion, he is still considering sales of custodian business SGSS, German consumer business Hanseatic Bank, UK private banking arm Kleinwort Hambros, and his Swiss private banking assets. These strategic moves are part of his broader plan to reshape Societe Generale and focus on core businesses that will contribute to long-term growth and profitability.
