ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 18 MAY 2016 On 18 May 2016, 620 shareholders attended Societe Generale’s Annual General Meeting in Paris-La Défense. Chaired by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, quorum was established at 56.97%, compared to 54.66% in 2015. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi opened the meeting by explaining the Group’s new corporate governance, introduced last year. Under the new structure, the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors, held by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, has been separated from that of Chief Executive Officer, held by Frédéric Oudéa. The meeting provided the occasion to explain the Group’s strategy, the challenges it faces and its growth prospects. Séverin Cabannes and Bernardo Sanchez Incera, Deputy Chief Executive Officers respectively, spoke about the Group’s results for 2015 and the French Retail Banking transformation plan. Jean- Bernard Lévy, Chairman of the Compensation Committee, explained the Group’s policy in this area. To be able to better meet our shareholders’ expectations, before the meeting Societe Generale asked over 5,000 shareholders to complete an online survey. “Robust performance and a business model that creates value.” 4 | LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS_JUNE 2016 All the resolutions proposed by the Board were adopted, including the renewal of Nathalie Rachou’s term as a Director and the appointment of two new Directors, Juan Maria Nin Genova and Emmanuel Roman. The cash dividend per share for 2015 was set at €2, up from €1.20 in 2014. The detachment of the dividend was set at 25 May and the dividend was paid as of 27 May. The business environment was uncertain in 2015, marked by geopolitical tensions, limited economic growth, continued accommodative monetary policies from central banks, very low or negative interest rates and ongoing regulatory uncertainties. In these challenging conditions, the resilience of the Group’s business model has been confirmed once again. Societe Generale has a solid balance sheet in terms of capital ratios, liquidity and the quality of our assets. A diversified model adapted to new challenges Our business model, with its focus on a diverse range of activities, geographical presence and sources of revenue, is well-suited to this environment. The Group’s three core businesses each generate around one-third of its revenues. French Retail Banking has three complementary brands: Societe Generale, Crédit du Nord and Boursorama. In 2015 these three brands showed very strong commercial activity and opened 300,000 new accounts. Boursorama
LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS_101
To see the actual publication please follow the link above