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Cross-border mergers 'not the priority' for SocGen, CEO says

Société Générale SA CEO Frédéric Oudéa dismissed talks of pending cross-border mergers in Europe, saying it is "not the priority" for the French lender, Reuters reported.

Oudéa made the remark amid speculations of a potential merger between SocGen and Italy's UniCredit SpA.

The CEO said during a Goldman Sachs investor conference that he does not see cross-border mergers at present since "the environment is not that clear," according to the report.

Although the potential deal would be a game-changer for cross-border M&A in Europe, analysts said it would yield limited savings, an opinion Oudéa echoed, saying: "I don't believe today you have very significant synergies between retail activities in different markets."

Instead, Oudéa said the most obvious option in today's environment was a domestic retail consolidation, Reuters said. He also reportedly reiterated that there are too many banks in Europe and that a reshuffle would be needed in the long term.