26 I SOCIETE GENERALE 2014-2015 PRIVATE BANKERS NOW OPERATE FROM 80 CITIES IN FRANCE, COMPARED TO 10 CITIES PREVIOUSLY OFFERING PRIVATE BANKING SERVICES VIA THE INTERNATIONAL RETAIL BANKING NETWORK Societe Generale has grown its international private banking business, already operating in 14 countries on four continents, through synergies with the international retail banking network and based on models adapted to suit local needs. After an initial joint venture in 2010 in the Czech Republic, two further partnerships have been launched, one in Morocco in 2013 and the other in Croatia in 2014. Wealthy clients of Soceite Generale’s branches in these countries now have access to expanded product ranges and added-value private banking advisory services. Through this partnership, the Group’s Croatian bank now offers its clients, under the Splitska Banka Private Banking brand, a new range of structured products that are still rare in this market and which have rapidly proved to be a success. CLIENT-FOCUSED A BREAK WITH THE PAST IN PRIVATE BANKING In 2014 Societe Generale launched a completely overhauled private banking offer in France, a real break with the rest of the market. An organisation clearly focused on client service combined with a business model built on expertise and local presence. Clients can now have access to private banking expertise at any of Societe Generale’s 2,300 locations in France. “This model allows us to provide a better service to our clients by offering them a wider range of products and services, and a more personalised support,” explained Patrick Folléa, Director of Societe Generale Private Banking (SGPB) in France. The private banking offer is open to all individual clients with assets over €500,000. By lowering the point of entry for private banking services, while keeping it higher than those of its competitors, Societe Generale’s goal is to provide a top-of-the-range service characterised by comprehensive expert advice for a client segment representing nearly 40,000 households and €50 billion in assets. More than 150 private bankers were recruited for the launch, a near three-fold increase in staff, as well as 90 employees in support functions. In turn, they benefit from the support of expert private banking teams (wealth engineers and investment advisers), decentralised and spread out across France’s major cities. Combining private banking expertise and a proactive approach to being closer to the clients of the Societe Generale French retail banking network is unprecedented. By choosing to organise itself in this way, SGPB has strengthened its assets in a wealth management market which has faced significant challenges since the start of the financial crisis. A similar approach is being deployed with the Group’s international retail banking division (see right). privatebanking.societegenerale.com RELATIONSHIP BANKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
RAPPORT_ANNUEL_2014-2015_UK
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