Société Générale (France)
is still shareholder in SGBL

French bank set aside provisions

against country downgrade

Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) said that Société Générale (France) is still one of its shareholders.

SGBL’s statement came in response to a report by a local newspaper alleging that Société Générale (France) has exited SGBL because it considers it a troubled and mismanaged bank.

The French bank didn’t exit its investment in SGBL but has rather set aside provisions against its stake in light of the credit downgrade of Lebanon by international rating agencies, SGBL said. This procedure is in keeping with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), it said.

Société Générale (France) had said that its financial results for 2019 include an impairment of EUR158 million ($173 million) that corresponds to its entire 16.8 percent stake in SGBL.

SGBL is in the process of increasing its capital by $283 million through cash contributions in US dollars. The move is in compliance with the instructions of the Central Bank requiring local banks to raise their capital by 20 percent by mid-2020. SGBL’s total assets stood at $25.8 billion at the end of 2018. The bank has branches in Jordan, the UAE, Cyprus, France, and Monaco.