Yahoo Finance SocGen to Sell Bulk of Morocco Business in €745 Million Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Societe Generale SA is selling the bulk of its Moroccan business to Saham Group in a €745 million ($798 million) deal, accelerating Chief Executive Officer Slawomir Krupa’s plan to streamline the lender.
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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, according to a statement Friday.
The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, should result in a gain of about 15 basis points in SocGen’s CET1 ratio, a key measure of financial strength. The French lender will take an accounting hit of €75 million on its first-quarter earnings.
SocGen’s stock gained as much as 3.9% in Paris trading Friday.
It’s the second major disposal announced by SocGen this week, a sign that Krupa’s plan to offload less profitable units and bolster the firm’s finances is accelerating. The CEO, who’s been working to win back investor confidence, on Thursday announced an agreement to sell SocGen’s equipment finance business for €1.1 billion.
Krupa, who took the reins last year with a mandate to boost its lagging valuation, has pledged to cut expenses by €1.7 billion by 2026 and bring the firm’s cost-to-income ratio below 60%. Earlier this year, the lender announced plans to cut about 900 jobs at its head office.
He’s still exploring the disposals of custodian business SGSS, German consumer business Hanseatic Bank, UK private banking arm Kleinwort Hambros and its Swiss private banking assets.
(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)
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