Daniel Bouton, chairman and CEO of Société Générale, discusses in detail his bank’s culture and strategy with Euromoney’s editor, Clive Horwood.

It’s about time people noticed the French bank’s incredible performance, generated by a simple approach where the retail and investment banks complement each other’s strengths.

Jean-Pierre Mustier wants to make Société Générale a global powerhouse--and win the respect of investment banking rivals in London and New York -- by building on the bank's dominant position in equity derivatives.

In 2004, the Société Générale Group created a new division, Global Investment Management and Services (GIMS) to seek out synergies between asset management, private banking and securities services. Shahnaz Mahmud explores how successful the French bank has been at identifying these connections and the impact on SGAM.

SocGen's move on big local player signals confidence in the run-up to Egypt's first open presidential election

BNP and SG say they are taking a calculated risk, but can the investment pay off?

Nordea, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Société Générale enter into corporate card alliance

UBS Wealth Management, Sarasin, Bordier & Cie, Credit Suisse Private Banking, Coutts, Bank Privat, Degroof, Mandatum, SG Private Banking, Sal Oppenheim, CenE Bankiers, Banif, Cuatrecasas, Carnegie, Citco, Man Group, Noriba, UBS, PwC.

French bank Société Générale needs to take over a rival - or be taken over - if it is to fulfil its promise in the nascent pan-European market. Crucially, it also needs to overhaul and redirect its investment banking business.

Société Générale chairman Daniel Bouton speaks to Euromoney’s Jennifer Morris about his bank’s performance, strategy and prospects

Société Générale paid Eu1.2 billion for 60% of Komercni Banka as it moved into the Czech Republic in June. The move was criticized as too risky. Now, it appears that it was right on target.

The world’s best project finance house

While Horlick’s problems were perhaps the most widely documented of the SocGen team, Keith Percy and John Richards also had their own difficulties.

With foreign investment in France burgeoning, corporate governance had to catch up with international standards, borrowing from Anglo-Saxon ideas and practice. Marc Viénot, former head of Socété Générale, has taken on the mission of converting French companies. His reports laid down key guidelines that many companies now accept. But there have been some laggards and, to Viénot’s regret, the government wants to impose legal obligations.

Despite having left their previous jobs under controversial circumstances and with no performance track record to call their own, Nicola Horlick, Keith Percy and John Richards have turned SocGen Asset Management into a force in UK fund management in just three years. The results to date are impressive, with nearly all targets reached and 71 mandates under management totalling nearly £7 billion of assets. However, despite their protestations to the contrary, marketing the business through the personalities of the individuals, particularly Horlick, has left many with the impression that it is a top-heavy star firm. Horlick and co are striving to shake off this image as they push towards their next target of £20 billion.

Head of media and telecommunications, Société Générale

Head of institutional coverage for German-speaking clients, Société Générale

French banking has arrived at a turning point. In the past the government would have stepped in to resolve the takeover battle between Société Générale, Paribas and Banque Nationale de Paris. But this time it looks likely that shareholders will determine who triumphs. Rebecca Bream reports.

The battles rage for Telecom Italia, Société Générale and Gucci. Europeans have learnt aggressive US-style tactics. Optimists think corporate Europe has woken up after trailing the US for years. But these mega deals are driven by clan rivalry and gigantism, rather than efficiency.

In the eurozone big is beautiful. The potential three-way merger of Banque Nationale de Paris, Société Générale and Paribas is just the latest example of the consolidation that will transform Europe's fragmented and largely unsophisticated banking industry. National borders and regulations have become irrelevant more quickly than anyone had predicted, leaving the way open for huge intra-market and cross-border tie-ups. But as banking goes the way of auto manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, what role is left for the smaller institutions - the regional specialists and the boutiques?

Investment bankers are sometimes accused of seeking an image that is more pin-up than pinstripes. One of their number at least will be among the throng at the Cannes film festival, but she will be quite happy for the paparazzi to keep their lenses trained on the starlets cavorting on the beach. Premila Hoon will be looking for projects to launch Société Générale's new film-finance business.

So it's goodbye to the name of Strauss Turnbull. The call to the knacker's yard from the uncompromising French bosses at Société Générale surprised no-one. Relationships between the two house had long been fraught. SocGen probably thought that Strauss Turnbull was a better firm than it proved to be. When the French found out that it had been sold a pup it was only a matter of time before the tumbrels were rolled out.

Competition in French banking is distorted by an outdated legal framework. French banks need to be downsized and made more profitable. Their returns on equity and cost/income ratios are deplorable. Strong statements. But those aren't Euromoney's views, they're the views of Marc Viénot, chairman of one of France's biggest banks, Société Générale. He spoke to Felix Salmon