France’s Societe Generale, Credit du Nord In Merger Talks

Societe Generale (SocGen) and Credit du Nord, both based in Paris, have approved a plan to merge their retail banking operations, the banks said in a Monday, December 7, press release. In addition, SocGen stated, the plan is to beef up Boursorama, a retail digital banking operation catering to individuals.

The release stated that, “from a financial perspective, the merger” will generate cost savings, including from the use of a single IT system and “the consolidation of Group functions.”

The merger “will form a new entity at the service of nearly 10 million customers” — ranging from corporations to individuals. “The goal is to be one of the leaders in terms of core customer satisfaction with our core client base and to establish a banking model with strengthened profitability,” according to the release.

SocGen is already one of France’s largest banks. The companies stated they have “decided to bring Boursorama to maturity in terms of the number of customers, with the goal of reaching 4.5 million customers in 2025 and achieving high profitability.”

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