French lender Societe Generale has stopped its banking and insurance activities in Russia and signed an agreement to divest its entire shareholding in Rosbank and the group’s Russian insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, the previous shareholder of Rosbank.
With the latest deal, the French lender would exit from Russia in an effective and orderly manner, ensuring continuity for its staff and customers.
Societe Generale said that the impact of the sale of Rosbank and the group’s Russian insurance activities on the group’s CET1 ratio is expected to be about 20 basis points based on the net value of the divested assets as of 31 December 2021.
Last month, the French lender said that it has €18.6bn exposure to Russia, which comprises €15.4bn onshore exposures (within Russia) in SG Russia, and €3.2bn in offshore exposures (outside Russia).
Societe Generale, in a statement, said: “Pro-forma this transaction, the Group’s CET 1 ratio would remain comfortably above the Group’s guidance. As a reminder, the Group’s CET1 ratio was 13.7% as of December 31, 2021, i.e. 470 basis points above the minimum regulatory requirement.”
The proposed deal is subject to the approval of the relevant regulatory and anti-trust authorities. It will be carried out in compliance with the legal and regulatory obligations in force.
The transaction is expected to complete in the next few weeks.
Last month, Societe Generale has gone live with the updated version of Surecomp’s IMEX solution for back-office trade finance processing automation across four countries in Asia.
IMEX solution includes an online, real-time processing and decision support system that handles the full range of trade finance instruments.
Leveraging the digital solution, the lender is further optimising its operations and improving the quality of its customer service to corporate in the region.
