SOCIETE GENERALE 2014-2015 I 41 What do shared and individual responsibility mean in the context of the banking profession? S.C. They are inseparable from one another. In addition to the procedures we have implemented to manage our risks and ensure that our activities are compliant, every one of us must perform our banking duties responsibly each and every day. That is what motivates our continued efforts to develop a culture of risk management among all our teams. There’s no such thing as a responsible bank without responsible bankers. Each employee is called upon to apply the concept of appropriate risk-taking — so important to the client and the bank alike — in their individual behaviour. Everyone is responsible for this shared culture, regardless of their role within the company. Responsibility plays a central role in our recently reaffirmed values. It encourages everyone to ask themselves the right questions about their role: do my behaviours and decisions best serve the interest of all my stakeholders? Does the service I’m offering my client genuinely meet their needs? Is the client being charged a fair price? And if disputes arise, we have to settle them in the client’s favour. That how we create an authentic and sustainable relationship. We truly are at the service of our clients. So behaviour plays a very important role? S.C. Yes, because the means by which we obtain results is as important as the results themselves. That is why, as we reaffirm our values, we are also enhancing our leadership model so that our managers embody these values and serve as ambassadors of responsible behaviour. Team Spirit, Innovation, Responsibility and Commitment: these values give meaning to what we do. They govern our behaviour and are the foundation of our leadership model. We want our values to be fully incorporated into the criteria used in evaluating and promoting the company’s employees. Commitment has a special significance in my view. In service-oriented professions such as ours, it can significantly set us apart. Commitment drives us to build a relationship of trust with our clients. Outside of our business activities, it also leads us to get involved in civil society, namely through our cultural and sporting patronage initiatives. We are a bank that is committed to assisting young people in establishing their careers and helping artists create art and reach their audiences. Can Team Spirit be used to develop synergies within the bank? S.C. Team Spirit is crucial to the quality and strength of our relationships with clients. It incites us to further develop internal cooperation and so expand the range of services we can offer. It’s an area of strategic importance. Achieving growth in a weak economic environment means gaining market share, and the synergies between our various business lines help drive this momentum. To make this a reality, we are shifting from a product-focused approach to a client-centred one. We’re already doing this with our largest clients. They are in contact with senior bankers, who mobilise and coordinate all of the services that the bank can offer its clients. We are in the process of expanding this approach to all our clients and we can already see the positive effects, for example when we build synergies between our banking and insurance businesses. Not only are we growing our business faster than the rest of the market, but we are forging new links that reinforce our relationships with our clients! “THE MEANS BY WHICH WE OBTAIN RESULTS IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE RESULTS THEMSELVES” A COMMITTED AND RESPONSIBLE BANK
RAPPORT_ANNUEL_2014-2015_UK
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