A LONG HISTORY OF ENTREPRENEURS 150 YEARS OF BANKING AND LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS_2014 | 9 ENTREPRENEURSHIP On 4 May 1864, Napoleon III signed the founding decree for the “General company (Societe Generale) to foster business and industrial growth in France”. The bank’s founders were leading entrepreneurs driven by the ideals of progress of the 19th century. Among them was Joseph-Eugène Schneider, founder of the ironworks empire in Le Creusot, who served as Societe Generale’s first Chairman. In a France that was building a modern financial system to drive its economic growth, Societe Generale was called on to carry out “all transactions ordinarily within the domain of credit institutions, but also to facilitate the completion of major public or private works through its support, to negotiate all loans and, in short, to participate in any financial transactions that aim to increase the nation’s productive forces and to expand international business relations.” From the start, it adopted a universal banking model with an international focus. It was simultaneously a deposit, credit and business bank as well as a stock broker and wealth management adviser. FINANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT As a key player in the economic boom that resulted from the industrial revolution and international free trade, over the years Societe Generale has financed infrastructure projects that stand as landmarks of a new era: railroads, the Paris metro and the Eiffel Tower in France, as well as international projects such as the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Panama and Suez canals. Societe Generale has supported the creation and development of new economic success stories in France - the Compagnie Générale d’Electricité, the Société Industrielle des Téléphones (now known as Alcatel), the Say refineries, the Compagnie Générale des Eaux, etc. - often by investing in their capital. Like its major customers, Societe Generale went international very early on: in the 1870s, it was one of the first French banks to set up operations in London and Russia, where it became a major retail bank at the start of the 20th century.
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