SocGen CEO to exit after 15 years; CaixaBank unveils €1.8B buyback, new targets

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Société Générale SA CEO Frédéric Oudéa will step down when his term expires at the end of the French banking group's annual general meeting on May 23, 2023, 15 years after assuming the role in May 2008.

SocGen's shares closed at €23.98 on May 18, down more than 65% from €70.99 on April 17, 2008, when Oudéa was named CEO of the group, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows. This includes a precipitous drop during the global financial crisis; the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index fell roughly 63% during the same period.

Oudéa's tenure saw the group navigate a rogue trader fallout, exit Russia, incur losses due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and improve capital levels. SocGen's common equity Tier 1 ratio — a measure of financial strength — stood at 13.71% at the end of 2021, a significant increase from 6.60% at 2008-end.

Buyers and sellers

* Société Générale closed the sale of Russian unit PJSC Rosbank and its insurance businesses in the country to Interros Capital. SocGen said the sale will lead to a net loss of roughly €3.2 billion, which will reflect in its second-quarter financial statements.

* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA acquired an additional 36.12% stake in Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, taking the Spain-based bank's total interest in Garanti to 85.97%.

* U.K.-based Barclays Capital PLC raised its stake in Australian financial services firm Barrenjoey Capital Partners to 18.2% from 9.9% after subscribing to A$75 million of new capital.

* Sanctions-hit Russian lender VTB Bank PJSC divested its 19% stake in Qatar-based CQUR Bank LLC, Reuters and Russia's TASS news agency reported.

* U.S.-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc. sold its 9.85% stake in Belgium-based Euroclear Holding SA/NV to an alternative group of buyers for €709 million.

Financial results

* PKO Bank Polski SA posted a first-quarter net result attributable to the parent company of 1.42 billion Polish zlotys, up 20.3% year over year.

* Dutch lender ABN Amro Bank NV swung to a first-quarter profit attributable to owners of the parent company of €295 million from a year-ago loss of €54 million, when it booked charges related to a €480 million anti-money laundering settlement. Portugal's Banco Comercial Português SA and Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC also reported earnings.

* U.K.-based Nationwide Building Society's statutory profit after tax for the year ended April 4 more than doubled on a yearly basis to £1.25 billion from £618 million.

* Julius Bär Gruppe AG's AUM totaled CHF457 billion at the end of April, down 5% year to date. The Swiss private banking group also announced new medium-term targets, including an adjusted cost-to-income ratio below 64% by 2025. The ratio stood at 63% in the first four months of 2022.

In other news

* U.K.-based HSBC Holdings PLC tapped investment bank Robey Warshaw to assist in an internal review of its strategy as part of efforts to push back against calls from its top investor, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., to carve out its Asian business, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. HSBC and Robey Warshaw representatives declined to comment to Bloomberg.

* CaixaBank SA intends to repurchase up to €1.8 billion of shares in the next 12 months. The Spanish lender also unveiled new targets for 2022 to 2024, including reaching a return on tangible equity of more than 12%.

* Barclays PLC expects to file restated financial statements with U.S. regulators by the end of May and to resume a £1 billion share buyback program. The British lender said in March that it oversold securities in the U.S., which cost it £450 million and resulted in the delay of the share repurchases.

* Erste Group Bank AG CEO Bernd Spalt decided not to renew his contract, which expires June 30, 2023, amid "differing opinions on the future" of the Austrian lender, the group said.

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