Societe Generale strikes deal to sell UK and Swiss private banking arms for £770m

The deal will see the two divisions, which have combined total assets of 25 billion euros (£21bn), taken over by Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privee (UBP), which specialises in wealth management.

Societe Generale said the sale forms part of its plans to target a “streamlined, more synergetic and efficient business model, while strengthening the group’s capital base”.

It will create more space to focus on its high-net-worth customers across its private banks in France, Luxembourg and Monaco, it said.

Societe Generale, which is one of Europe’s biggest banks with about 126,000 staff in countries around the world, appointed a new chief executive last year.

Slawomir Krupa previously unveiled plans to offload less profitable parts of the business and build up its balance sheet.

Societe Generale was among the European banking giants to be caught up in a temporary but widespread sell-off of banking shares in the fallout from the collapse of Credit Suisse in March last year.

The failure of the Swiss bank and the wider turbulence sent shares of other European banks tumbling, some by double digits, as investors reacted to fears over the stability of the sector.

Credit Suisse was taken over by rival Switzerland-based bank USB in a rescue deal worth 3.25 billion US dollars (£2.55bn).