Société Générale Plans To Close 600 Branches In The Domestic

Société Générale Plans To Close 600 Branches In The Domestic

The French bank Société Générale announced on Monday that it plans to close 600 branches in the domestic, French market in the next five years as part of the consolidation of its network in the country. The banking group said it would merge the branches of Société Générale with the branches of its subsidiary Credit du Nord, leading to job closures and unspecified job losses. Sébastien Proto, the group's deputy general director told AFP that there would be no redundancies because the group would rely on employee retirement and "natural departures". Société Générale wants to reduce costs after reporting a loss of more than one billion euros in the first six months of the year. The traditional banking sector is undergoing huge changes around the world due to declining demand for personal services in branches, as well as due to competition from new so-called "fintech" groups. Société Générale added that it plans to reduce the number of its branches to 1,500 from the current 2,100 by the end of 2025.