Societe Generale books loss after Russia exit

French banking giant Societe Generale on Wednesday reported a loss in the second quarter following its exit from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Societe Generale sold its Russian subsidiary, Rosbank, in May to an investment firm founded by Vladimir Potanin, an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The bank booked a net loss of almost 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the April-to-June period, according to an earnings statement.

Its net banking income — the equivalent of turnover — rose by almost 13 percent to seven billion euros, helping to soften the blow.

The bank had expected a 3.2-billion-euro hit from its sale of Rosbank.

The second quarter “concluded two years of intense and disciplined execution of our various strategic projects,” chief executive Frederic Oudea said in a statement.

“We were able to manage our exit from the Russian activities without significant capital impact and without handicapping the Group’s strategic developments,” Oudea said.

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