Societe Generale Is Said to Cut Traders' Bonus Pool by a Quarter
Societe Generale Is Said to Cut Traders’ Bonus Pool by a Quarter
(Bloomberg) -- Societe Generale SA cut bonuses for its traders by as much as 25 percent, according to people with the knowledge of the decision.
The reduction in the bonus pool was communicated to the employees in recent weeks, said three people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. A spokesman at the bank declined to comment.
The sharp reduction in the compensation comes amid a poor performance at the Paris-based lender’s trading activities. Revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities fell about 7 percent to 515 million euros ($633 million) in the fourth quarter. The bank cited “historically low volatility” and the reduced client activity as a reason for the underperformance.
The bonus cuts come after Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea said compensation would “follow the performance” of the trading activities. Last month, French rival Natixis SA said it had boosted its bonus pool for 2017 by 10 percent after it posted revenue gains at its corporate and investment bank.
SocGen is in talks to potentially settle a U.S. investigation into the alleged manipulation of the Libor interest rate, as well as a probe into accusations of bribery in Libya. The Deputy CEO Didier Valet left the company after a disagreement over a case that sees the bank accused of manipulating Libor, a person with knowledge of the matter said this week.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stefania Spezzati in London at sspezzati@bloomberg.net, Stephen Morris in London at smorris39@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon, Paul Armstrong
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