Societe Generale Group

Société Générale was founded in 1864 as a limited company. In 1945 it was nationalized, becoming a wholly owned state entity. In between 1945 and 1987 Société Générale continued to expand both in France and outside of France whilst at the same time increasing the range of banking services on offer and acquiring leading positions in new financing techniques. In 1987, the bank was privatized. Société Générale has been operating on the Czech market since 1982 and focuses particularly on investment banking and providing services for the largest companies.

Société Générale, the French financial group, is currently the fifth largest bank in the euro zone; it has more than 90,000 employees worldwide, of whom more than 40% outside France.

Société Générale Group's activities are concentrated in three core business areas: retail banking, asset management, and private, corporate and investment banking. The main thrust of its business model comes from the benefits deriving from product and service cross-selling between the various business lines.

The Group's corporate banking business line includes the French network of Société Générale and the Crédit du Nord Group, specialised financial services, and retail banking outside France. The Société Générale Group offers all universal banking services to an extensive client base that includes individuals, small businesses, municipalities and corporations. The number of its retail banking clients has exceeded 15 million worldwide.

SG Asset Management offers its private clients, corporate clients and international institutional investors, a broad range of investment products and services to meet their specific needs. SG Asset Management is present on all major international markets.

SG's corporate and investment banking serves both corporate clients and institutional investors in 45 countries of Europe, America and Asia. It offers comprehensive and modern solutions to meet its client's strategic objectives and financing requirements.

For more information see: www.socgen.com