Societe Generale S.A. is a large European bank and a major financial services company that has a substantial global presence. Its registered office is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, while its head office is in the Tours Société Générale in the business district of La Défense in the city of Nanterre, west of Paris. The three main divisions are Retail Banking & Specialized Financial Services (particularly in France and Eastern Europe), Corporate and Investment Banking (Derivatives, Structured Finance and Euro Capital Markets) and Global Investment Management & Services.It is the no. 2 French bank behind BNP Paribas and the no. 8 bank in the European zone. Société Générale has been ranked as one of the world's most admired companies to work in.Société Générale is one of the oldest banks in France. Its original name was Société Générale pour favoriser le développement du commerce et de l'industrie en France (English: General Company to Support the Development of Commerce and Industry in France). Société Générale is often nicknamed SocGen (pronounced "sock jenn") in the international financial world.The long term debt of the group is currently ranked A by S&P, A2 by Moody's and A+ by Fitch.The bank was founded by a group of industrialists and financiers during the second empire, on May 4, 1864, to support the development of commerce and industry in France. The bank's first chairman was the prominent industrialist Eugène Schneider (1805–1875) followed by Edward Blount, a Scotsman.The company started to hire employees and establish offices. Coverage of France went ahead at a steady rate. By 1870, the bank had 15 branches in Paris and 32 in the rest of France. It set up a permanent office in London in 1871.At the beginning, the bank used its own resources almost entirely for both financial and banking operations. In 1871, Société Générale moved into the public French issues market with a national debenture loan launched to cover the war indemnity stipulated in the Treaty of Frankfurt.From 1871 to 1893, France went through a period of economic gloom marked by the failure of several banking establishments. The company continued to grow at a more moderate pace; in 1889, there were 148 banking outlets, demonstrating the group's capacity to withstand unfavourable economic conditions.
Net income € 2.385 billion (2011)
Total assets € 1.181 trillion (2011)