Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I'm delighted to welcome you here for our annual general assembly. 18 days ago, on the fourth of May, Société Générale celebrated its 160th anniversary. Founded to finance the development of commerce and industry under the Second Empire, Société Générale has now become a systemic bank, one of the premier banks in Europe, present in over 60 countries with over 100,000 employees. A new stage was launched in 2023, with the designation of Slawomir Krupa, our CEO, and the presentation in September of a new strategic and financial plan, looking to make Société Générale a European bank of the top tier, robust and sustainable.
To attain this objective, we have to reinforce the financial solidity of the group and generate income over time, sustainably, by adapting the business model, optimizing capital management, and improving the operational efficiency and risk management. In the same time, the group needs to accelerate the integration of the RSE stakes within its strategy. The financial objectives approved by the Executive Board in September 2023 are clear-cut. Ratio to capital of 13% in 2026, an operating coefficient under 60%, profitability between 9%-10%, and reinforce the liquidity ratios. The Administration Board is very vigilant and monitoring closely this roadmap to ensure it is laid out properly for the biggest profit of shareholders, employees, and customers.
In this context, 2023 would have been a year of transition, with contrasted results, but already a lot of strategic realizations which have been carried out. The merger of the retail networks, the creation of Ayvens, the creation of a joint venture with AllianceBernstein, and the development of BoursoBank. The Administration Board, through my voice, wishes to reaffirm its trust in the capacity of the new general management and the teams of the group to deliver in 2024, this strategy, 2024 and beyond, of course. Now has come the time to open this general assembly, at once ordinary and extraordinary, which is announced legal, obligatoire, the convocation appeared in the bulletin, and then Les Petites Affiches on the 17th of April, 2024.
We have a quorum of 55.56%, which represents 423,645,038 shares for 26,000 shareholders. So the final quorum will be announced just before the voting of the resolutions. All the written questions and answers are available on the site of the General Assembly, and we will come back to that at the end of the session. So around me on stage here today, at this table, to exchange with you, I have on my left, Slawomir Krupa, the Director General, and on my right, Philippe Aymerich and Pierre Palmieri, the two Deputy Chief Executive Officers.
So over the course of this meeting, we will have, first of all, we'll be looking at the results by Claire Dumas, the Financial Director, talking about strategy by our CEO, Slawomir Krupa. Specific point, looking at CSR by Pierre Palmieri, and looking at ESG, and compensation, remuneration by Jérôme Contamine, who's President of the Compensation Committee. And then debates and the voting. So we can now move to the constitution of the Bureau of our General Assembly, to be designated as scrutators. The two shareholders, having accepted the function, who have themselves or as mandatary, who have the mandate of the biggest number of votes. Madame Nogaye Dieng, representing BNP Paribas Asset Management, and Mr. Edouard Dubois, representing Amundi.
I thank them for being here as the ombudsman. I suggest that they be. I thought that Patrick Suet be the Secretary of the Secretary of the Administrative Board. The statutory auditors have been called upon, according to legal procedures. It is Mr. Michaël Missakian, who represents Ernst & Young, and Mr. Jean-Marc Mickeler, who represents Deloitte & Partners. I also have on the bureau of the assembly, the usual documents. You have the list on the screen behind me, and the documents, and legal information, making up the documentation for the assembly.
The list is also on the screen, have been put online on the Société Générale site and sent to the shareholders, or put there, or made available to them at the headquarters of Société Générale. Our debates and the meeting is shared online live on internet and will be accessible thereafter on our website. As every year, we have carried out a survey with the shareholders to prepare this general assembly. 2.4% of the 120,000 individual shareholders responded. This survey shows, like every year, how interested you are in first in the strategy and the results and dividends and the distribution policy.
Then it's risk management, the remuneration and compensation of managers, and CSR. We'll be talking about that today, and we can come back to that in the session of debates. For these exchanges, we have staff at the entrance that you may have questions for us. Customers, if you have personal questions pertaining to your relationship with the bank, for instance, we have staff outside the room who can help you. Also, this assembly is online and live. We're looking to not showing any images of the participants. The participants are present here, including those asking questions, so you will not be filmed if you ask a question.
Ladies and gentlemen, now I will give the floor to the first speaker, Claire Dumas, who is the Financial Director of the group, who is going to be presenting the 2023 results. Claire?... Thank you. Ladies, gentlemen, hello. As ever in this financial aspect, I will go first of looking at 2023, the fiscal year, and then thereafter, I will comment on the one hand, the major targets for 2024 from financial point of view, and also the results of the first quarter 2024, which we published on the 3rd of May last. Let's look first at 2023 results, as we have, when we did the presentation of the 2022 results, at the beginning of last year.
2023 was a transition year, from a financial point of view, because principally of the consequences of inflation and the change in rates, which arrived suddenly and, within the context of a slowing down of the economy, notably in France. In this context, the annual results were of EUR 25.1 billion in 2023 for the group. After 2022, which had been a record year with exceptional conditions, with regard to market activities and automotive leasing, following on from the COVID period. In 2023, the performances carried out within the Investor Solutions, GBIS, and the Retail Bank International are extremely solid. The BoursoBank continued its strong growth to attain over 6 million customers right from January.
Revenues was up to 15% for its income with the integration of LeasePlan from May, compensating thereby the fewer second-hand vehicles are sold. The rates going up since 2022 really had an impact on the retail banking in France, with the third quarter of 2023 reached their lowest level before progressively increasing and improving since. With regard to costs, the growth in overheads remained contained in 2023 in spite of the inflation because we stayed in control of the costs, notably thanks to the first money-saving elements which are going to continue this year and accelerate further still. So this comes in with an operating coefficient of 73.8% in 2023.
Moreover, the cost of risk remained very low, 17 basis points, throughout the year. This is a proof for one more time of the quality of the portfolio of assets of the group, and of a cautious management of risks. Overall, the net result is at EUR 2.5 billion in 2023. The capital ratio is above the regulatory demands, at 13.1% at the end of 2023.
On these basis, and in line with the policy of distribution presented last September and on the Investors Day, the Administration Board has decided to propose a distribution, a total distribution of around EUR 1.25 per share, broken down in a dividend of EUR 0.90 per share in cash, according- in line with the approval of the general assembly, which will be paid on the 29th of May, and a program of a share buyback of approximately EUR 280 million, which EUR 0.35 per share, when the launch will come into place after the general assembly. Now, let us look at the financial forecast for 2024.
Coming back to the major targets communicated at the outset of the year, which are in line with the midterm trajectory presented in September 2023 in the Investor Day. First off, we're anticipating this year an increase of income higher or equal to 5% with regard to 2023 because of the bounce back of the net interest margin in France and the progression of the activities of insurance and private banking. We will also benefit in 2024 of a full contribution of LeasePlan to the income of Ayvens, in the context of stabilization of margins and normalization of the market of used vehicles. Furthermore, the commercial performance should remain robust within the other activities, notably within investment banking and retail banking internationally.
As we committed to, the group will moreover give particular importance to pursuing the improvement of its operational efficiency through the execution of the projects which are currently in place, which are happening, whether it's for, for example, the finalization of the merger of the networks in France, or the project of simplification of the headquarters in France, or the rationalization of the IT system, or also of the first savings coming out of the integration of LeasePlan within Ayvens. As we had already indicated, this will bring about the taking into account in 2024 of a major part of the cost of transformation scheduled on the period 2024-2026. Overall, we were looking to attain an operating coefficient under 71% in 2024, which is down approximately 3 points with regard to the previous year.
With regard to the cost of risk, we are anticipating that the normalization will continue to happen for cost of risk in an economic context, which is less favorable in the previous years, but at a level which should remain between 24 and 30 basis points. All this brings us to forecast profitability on capital equity of over 6% in 2024. Finally, in coherence with the trajectory of midterm of the capital communicated in the September Investor Day, we indicated at the beginning of the year, a target of capital of approximately 13% CET1, for the end of 2024. Let us come back now to the results rapidly, of the first quarter 2024. In line with our trajectory, the operating performance has started to improve. At the...
In the first quarter of this year, the incomes or activities are solid at EUR 6.6 billion, carried by excellent commercial performances in a number of métier. For instance, the Investor Solutions, big banks, GBIS, in a context which was less favorable in the previous years. The contribution of Retail Bank internationally remains solid, and the income of services and mobility and leasing have progressed by over 10% after the integration of LeasePlan. Finally, the net margin of interest continues to bounce back from one quarter to the next, and the financial commissions have grown strongly this quarter, notably with the collection of life insurance, which has been record levels.
Boursorama Bank is continuing gaining market share, with over 460,000 new customers in one quarter. Costs, they are down 1.2% with regard to last year, in spite of what occurs with the transformation costs, which are scheduled for this year. Cost of risk is at 27 basis points for the quarter, in line with our anticipations. Overall, the group carried out in the first quarter solid results, with financial aggregates, which comfort the annual forecast. At 13.2%, capital ratio, ratio capital, is above the regulatory threshold, and enables us to envisage that we will attain our target for the end of the year. Thank you. Thank you, Claire. Now, the statutory auditors, Jean-Marc Mickeler.
Representing the College of Statutory Auditors. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, in the name of your College of Statutory Auditors, I will summarize all our reports, which are in the documentation which has been provided to you, by starting by the reports of audit with regard to consolidated accounts and annual accounts. The objective of our assignment is to obtain a reasonable assurance with regard to the regularity, the sincerity, and the transparency of the accounts, and to ensure that there's no significant anomalies that they're in. After our works, we can certify with no reservation, the consolidated accounts and the annual accounts, which have been signed off by your executive Administration Board, and which you are asked to approve today. In an environment which is complex, which is volatile also, we report in our...
We have in our report the key points with regard to the risk of a significant anomalies, which, according to our professional judgment, were the most important for the audit this year. These key points of the audit look at one side, the consolidated accounts, and the individual accounts. They cover the assessment of the depreciation with regard to credit customers, the recoverable of the deferred taxes in France, the right value on the basis of of the outgoings in the retail banks in France. The complex risk with regard to international retail, IT risks, and the legal or judicial risks with regard to regulations, administration. So two key points of the audit focus just on the consolidated accounts.
It's the reassessment of the residual values of vehicles leased by your group, and the assessment of the incidence of the first application of the standard IFRS 17, insurance contract, on the opening of contracts, and the for the retirement pension savings. And on the individual accounts, it's the participation and other titles which are held over the long term. With regard to the management report of the group, we have no observation with regard to the sincerity and the concordance with the consolidated accounts. With regard to individual accounts, they have no observation to formulate, either after the specific verification scheduled for by the law, notably those reporting to the other information communicated to shareholders, notably the report on the governance of the enterprise.
The management, I'll now summarize the one with regard to regulated agreements for 2023. We need to communicate with regard to the information which have been provided to us, the characteristics, features, and essential modalities, and the motives of justifying what is of interest for your company, the agreements that we have been told of or that we discovered within our remit, without having to pronounce with regard to their usefulness or their being funded or looking for other agreements that was not within our remit. So, no authorized and signed-off agreement was signed off or already approved by the General Assembly, or the execution thereof would have continued during the current fiscal exercise.
And now, I look at the reports pertaining to the capital, the delegation of competencies, which are advised to give to your Executive Board through the resolutions 23-27, for the emission of different instruments of capital, call upon no evolution, no nothing with regard to us. But the conditions in which those would be done and that are not set at this day, we express no opinion on these conditions, nor on the proposals of the preferential right of subscription our successors, notably we will report further with regard to the emissions of the said shares. The authorizations of attribution of free shares, which exist or which are to be issued for staff, that is on the resolutions 28-29.
The modalities are in line with the legislation, so no comment from our part, no remarks. To conclude, our report with regard to the authorization provided to the Executive Board to proceed to a possible reduction of capital, through buyback of shares, Resolution 30, we have no comment at that level. I thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. Thank you, Jean-Marc. Thank you to,
...Mr. Mickeler and Mr. Missakian, it's the last assembly. You will see that when we get to the resolutions. I really wish to thank you for your assistance, for your help, for your support over the period during which we were working together. I will now give the floor to Slawomir Krupa, our CEO, who will be talking in front of you for the first time as CEO of the group. I believe we have a film first, before Slawomir Krupa expresses himself. I believe so.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I'm delighted to be in front of you here for our general assembly. One year back, here, on this very stage, I told you how honored I was to be designated as administrator and the CEO of our company. I told you how proud I was to be serving our group, and how aware I was of the responsibility which was becoming mine. I also told you that it was necessary to open a new chapter in the history of the Société Générale Group. Our group needed to have a strategic re-establishment with a renewed ambition, objectives clearly set out, and determined actions to sustain—to attain that carried out rigorously. Ambition, as a first-tier European bank, is to reinforce the solidity of the group, to create the conditions of a sustainable performance zone.
Not only for the next quarter, not only for the next three years, but for decades to come. This long-term perspective remains at the heart of our strategic thinking and of our actions. Sustainable performance for our shareholders, with a strategy which enables us to reinforce our capital bases and the profitability of invested capital, which will also enable us to remedy to the structural underperformance of our share price, and to have that re-assessed sustainably over the long term. Without those solid foundations, we won't have a sustainable future.
Sustainable performance is for our customers, our number one asset, based on our relationships of confidence, established and solid, with our capacity to innovate, looking to always be improving and to adapt to an environment where deep evolutions happen, and our customers are confronted with that. In order to accompany them in their development, in the best level of our competencies and capacities, sustainable performance for our employees who are our driving force, by telling how proud we are to work for the Group Société Générale, and how proud we are to serve our customers, and throughout our roadmap, how proud we are to deliver ever better performance.
Sustainable performances for society, showing the way where we are expected, leading by example with regard to social and environmental responsibility when humankind is facing with climate change in particular, and has immense challenges ahead, which are complex, which need to be solved and beaten. We need to be part of the solution at our level. We have the expertise, and we want to commit, we go through clear objectives precisely set out. The first objective is capital equity, the progressive and structural improvement of our capital position. We want between now and 2026 to consolidate it further, to ensure that we have a buffer of equity which is adequate, and thereby reinforcing our strategic flexibility.
Why have we made this fundamental choice, which defines most of our other objectives? Because a bank which is strong from a strategic point of view is a bank with a solid equity, solid capital. Because we need to have, if you will, a contract, an insurance contract, indispensable in the world today, like in the world that lies ahead of us. For you, for us, for you, shareholders, and for our customers, we need to be able, in whatever the circumstances, to be able to face up to shocks. Shocks, whatever their nature may be, and even unscheduled ones, even ones which have never been seen before, completely unexpected. Macroeconomic shocks, headwinds, new regulations, geopolitical issues, because... And you can see this on a daily basis, unscheduled events, uncertainty, have become systemic.
We need to be able, through the cycle and in spite of circumstances, maintain a constant presence by the side of our customers. We need also to be able to seize the opportunities of growth when they happen, when they can be grasped. We need to ensure this solidity to our shareholders' side, by deciding to have a ratio of capital CET1. Taking into account the new Basel context of 13% in 2026, we've taken a fundamental structural decision. That is, to put to one side, capital, quarter after quarter, over the three years of our plan. And it's a decision which, of course, have consequences, the necessary counterparts to generate this capital, that we can provision, first off, by reinforcing our profitability.
Because the second objective, indeed, is profitability, the progressive and structural improvement of the profitability levels of the group. We do that by carrying out major transformations of our model. We are today halfway between the, in the implementation of the merger of the retail bank networks in France, a project which has now become reality, which is, in, has no historical equivalent, whereby its magnitude. It's the merger of ALD and LeasePlan, which are among the biggest projects of transformation in the history of the group, and which are going to produce growing effects in the months and years to come.
We do it by reducing our costs, with a target of EUR 1.7 billion of savings for the whole group over the period of the plan, through the optimization of our IT expenditure, and the transformation of our functions at the headquarters. We have cost reduction programs in each of the functions of the group, and through the simplification of our processes, to improve our operational efficiency. We committed to a target of operating coefficient less than 60% by 2026. It's necessary, it is absolutely major, and we will meet that target. The third objective is investment to prepare for the future.
because it is also conditions de la performance durable à long term. Our roadmap investments to strengthen our, our assets on, the domestic market and retail banking on our, key business lines in, in financing and investment banking and investments to continue innovating, investments to transform ourselves. The addition of all these investments exceeds everything we've done in the past, and represents more than EUR 7 billion between the acquisition of LeasePlan, the merger of the networks in France, the acquisition of our stake in Bernstein, total change of systems, KB, and, and the restructuring of the headquarters, as well as the redevelopment of Boursorama Bank. We are transforming everywhere. We are transforming, decisively.
Yes, this has done an unparalleled work at a very high pace in a methodical way, and systematic way. And it's assumes a strong effort to which everybody contributes. Our teams, with a cost reduction efforts without precedent. The company, through constraints in terms of organic growth, efforts of optimization of our balance sheet, and rationalization of our business portfolio, as I committed to last year on basis of strategic criteria. And you yourself, as shareholders and investors, within the framework of our short-term distribution policy, you contribute to those efforts. Those efforts are fruitful, and they're going to continue to be so. Because they are directed towards in the long run.
We are all aligned to reach our targets, and we've got to recall that our performance objectives at the level of the general management are in line with those that are detailed in the strategic roadmap. And the variable compensation of the general manager depends on the performance of the share price. For a year, we've done what we had promised to do at the pace that we have described. We have moved forward on the right tracks. It's difficult and, you know, there are sometimes difficulties. There are still, there's still a lot of work to be done, a lot of things to be achieved, but we've got, we've taken a clear direction. We will not deviate from it. We are executing our roadmap.
We have maintained solid performance in GBIS and retail banking internationally. We've continued with the merger of the networks in France, deploying our new brand, SG, optimizing our costs and processes by restructuring also our management system with structural risks. We have started the activities of retail banking in France, and it will continue in the coming months. On French market, that is continuing to change deeply in terms of behaviors of our customers, for example with a number of supplementary charges. We have made a merger of ALD and LeasePlan with this new Ayvens, and continued the implementation of the first synergies with the standardization of the price of secondhand cars.
We announced some weeks ago agreements that the Société Générale Equipment Finance and Société Générale in Morocco that are submitted to regulatory authorizations. We envisage to sell those historical activities of the group after a strategic thinking, just like I committed to, and in favorable conditions for the group and for the future of those businesses. With a combined value of near close to EUR 2 billion, they will bring, after the closing of the operations, 40 basis points of capital, and will release about EUR 10 billion of liquidity, and they will contribute to reducing the complexity of our model, and inflect the cross-sectional costs of the group. On the basis of the strategic criteria for the management of our portfolio of activity, detailed in our Capital Market Day.
There is a consistency with our ESG positioning, a positive and relative contribution to our profitability, material synergies with group, a limited exposure to extreme risks, and franchises, the best quality. Using this sheet of analysis, we're going to continue simplifying our model. We are also going to continue growing Boursorama. Well, that's become BoursoBank. There is a reference player in terms of online banking that went above 6 million customers in early 2024, whilst comforting its leadership in terms of satisfaction of customers. simple, efficient et innovatif model, we have a single banking landscape and we're going to continue moving forward. We've entered into strategic partnerships for more recurrent revenues.
We've given birth to Bernstein, our joint venture with AllianceBernstein. It's become a reality since April, with a new leader in the world of research for actions and cash shares. We've built a partnership with Brookfield to launch a private debt of EUR 10 billion from as a reference player in investment and. We have taken commitments in the field of climate change and the fight against climate change, mobilizing our know-how and investing eventually EUR 1 billion for in the form of transition. In face of this big challenge for humanity, we've got to be leaders taking leading. This is what we do, and in that, we do our job of banker, we anticipate on the changes, we finance the necessary investments, we make possible the transitions.
So to make possible the projects of our customers, our customers that we have been supporting for 160 years, since the foundation of our group, with our professionalism, with our passion, with our sense of commitment, with our concentration and our determination, our determination to act for our customers, to be accountable to our shareholders, our determination to transform ourselves, our determination to keep going in the right direction and to continue moving forward, quarter after quarter, and ensure the sustainable performance of our group in the long term, and to anchor our position among the European banks. Well, premium European banks. Thank you for your attention. [Foreign language]
... exposure of, the-
That, you can use the report of the sustainability auditor.
That auditor may be, well, financial or third party.
Committee and internal control.
That choice is proposed for three years. It takes into account constraints related to the need to know the group and the connectivity between the accounts and the sustainability indicators and the complexity of the ethical rules applicable to auditors of both kinds that are very strict. That would have led the group to lose capacity to use the two firms selected for the president.
The Board of Directors-
vous propose d'approuver les choix, Monsieur Guillaume Narguet pour KPMG et Monsieur Emmanuel Benoist pour PwC.
Will be the first signing parties.
I'm going to give the floor to Jérôme Contamine.
President of the Remuneration Committee.
Thank you, Lorenzo.
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
It is up to me.
As every year,
As the President of the Remuneration Committee,
I'll start with presenting-
The non-executive
For Equity Tier 1, that was a top point in the preceding presentations.
20% on CSR objectives, in line, of course, with the policy presented to you.
Pour 15%,
For 15% on the basis of compliance to regulations which are for all CEOs and specific objectives for each of the managers.
... Moreover, the general directors are eligible, if they are to leave, either an indemnity to compensate a clause of non-competition, compensated at the level of their set remuneration of the duration of 12 months, and a departure indemnity, which is only if they are made to leave the group. And the general directors retain, if they are former managers of Société Générale, they have the pension, the pension which they retain of executive management. So this, in practice, gives this following table, which is a bit more complex than usually, because we've had two managements, if you will. One until the 23rd of May, of Frédéric Oudéa being the CEO at the time, assisted by Philippe Aymerich and Dionys Lebot.
And since the 23rd of May, with the people here present, Slawomir Krupa as CEO, Philippe Aymerich, and Pierre Palmieri as the deputy DGs. So the amounts presented here, therefore, are amounts which will have been set in the temporis pro rata, pro rata temporis of the duration of mandates of each of the managers and directors. Throughout 2023, the set of remuneration is established as approved by the General Assembly of last year, May 2023. And this, as a reminder, the mandate of Slawomir Krupa and Pierre Palmieri started on the 23rd of May, 2023. A date at which the mandates of Frédéric Oudéa and Dionys Lebot ended.
The amount of the remuneration, the annual variable remuneration were determined by applying strictly and rigorously the rules of the policy of compensation as approved of 2023. Taking into account the rate of attaining the set objectives for that same fiscal year. So it's for the variable annual compensation. You can read with me 1,000,110.92 for Slawomir Krupa. 741,738 for Philippe Aymerich. 504,769 for Pierre Palmieri. 562,088 EUR for Frédéric Oudéa, and 265,186 EUR for Dionys Lebot.
These figures, the mirror of the realization rates of the financial and non-financial objectives which were set, and they are at 94% for the final objectives, and 91% for the non-financial objectives with regard to our current CEO, Slawomir Krupa. And, the long-term payments, which is attributed in, either in, Société Générale shares or equivalent of shares, which will only be realized after five years, if the objectives are attained, is at EUR 690,180 for Slawomir Krupa, the CEO. EUR 570,000 for Philippe Aymerich, and EUR 391,806 for Pierre Palmieri. I come now to the ratio. The ratio in line with the legislation, with regard to the remuneration of directors for 2023.
The report has information on the evolution of the remuneration of each of the directors and the directors, compared to the mean and average, compensation of the employees and the performances of the group. On the graphics, you can see the evolution of the average and median remuneration of staff, and the ratio between the remuneration of the CEO and the remuneration, the mean, and, average, remuneration of the employees over five years. The ratio 2023, with regard to, the, median remuneration, is at 61, and the ratio with regard to the average, compensation of employees is at 45. Levels of ratio which are absolutely coherent with the historic ratios, and with a positioning which is considerably under the threshold of the median of the CAC 40 ratios of the big groups, listed on the French stock market.
Also to notice the progression of the median compensation in 2023 for a median employee, if I may say, which comes through the collective agreements on the levels of remuneration of the ones which are the less high, the lowest. There's, you can find the in the universal reference register, you can note that the Committee of Remunerations ensured that there was a review of the modalities of the regulated populations in the context of the banking directive, CRD5. The amounts paid out to this population in 2023 are submitted to you for a consultation vote by the 16th resolution. I thank you for your attention. Jérôme. Thank you, Jérôme. So we move now to the written questions received.
This year, the shareholders asked for one or several written questions, generally several. 72 questions in total, by 13 shareholders. The answers have been published on the General Assembly site. Out of those, besides those which are purely of information, questions were pertaining to topics which have been already touched upon since the beginning of this General Assembly. Results, policy of distribution strategy, and especially, CSR policy and climate transition policy. They have been published, and they will therefore not be read in this current assembly. I now open the floor to the debate with the people present, and we start with the Consultation Committee of the Shareholders. Microphones, you have microphones at your disposal....
By the hosts and hostesses, who will come to you with the microphone. So please, then, give the microphone back when you have finished your question. I would also ask everybody to be concise, brief, which will enable the biggest number of people possible to ask their questions. And as per usual, I will give the first question, give the floor to the Consultation Committee of the Shareholders, represented by Monsieur Pierre-Yves Pellissier. Mr. Pellissier, sitting here up front. Bonjour. Pierre-Yves Pellissier, member of the Consultation Committee of the Shareholders. As an individual shareholder, one of our major issues is the dividend, and more widely, the policy of distribution.
Could you tell us a bit more about that is going to be evolving, from next year and thereafter? Also, in the presentation, you mentioned that there was a program of buyback of shares of EUR 280 million, which will be launched... Could you tell us a bit more with regard to the concrete advantages of this type of program for us, individual shareholders? Thank you in advance for your answers. Thank you. Hello. So, within the presentation of our strategic roadmap, today, we set out for the duration of the plan until 2026, a policy of distribution, signed off by the Administration Board, would be a distribution of the published result.
That's important to note, of the published result, which could go from 40%-50%, and which would be part of the logic, the general logic, notably pertaining to reinforcing our equity base, and foundation, as I was talking about earlier on. We also said that within this policy, we would be looking at, potentially to maintaining a balance, from 2024 onwards, with regard to the dividend paid in cash, and the buyback of shares. So we try and find a balance between the two manners, if you will, of distributing the published result.
In 2023, and this is what is going to be put to you today, the balance retained by the board was different, taking into account the necessity of having a minimum of dividends of compensation in cash. So you know that the distribution suggested is at EUR 1.25, EUR 0.10 where would be in cash, and EUR 35 per share, which is around EUR 280 million. You've just talked about the idea of having this balance is the interest of having of buying back the shares, looking to reduce at the end of the day number of shares, and therefore of supporting the valorization of the company, of the group.
By the fact that the results and dividends per share will mechanically increase, given the cancellation of, if you will, shares. So notably, but not only in this case, when the valorization of a group is inferior to its net accounting value, there's a financial interest over the long term for shareholders. It reinforces the value of the shares to distribute the results to the dividends to a smaller number of shares before the buyback action takes place with regard to the shares. So we'd like to have a balanced approach with regard to the two ways of remunerating and compensating shareholders. And just to conclude, the choice between the two methods has no impact.
The impact is the same, with regard to the equity of the group, naturally. So I would like hosts, hostesses to retain the mics and only give it when I ask you to, when I indicate. So if you look around where you are, there are people asking to express themselves. If there's nobody, you just keep the microphone in your hand, and when I give you your number, hosts and hostesses, you give the microphone to the person closest to you, who has asked to express themselves. I'll start with number two, then we'll go to 6, 3, and 7. Number two, please. And if you can introduce yourself. Michel Guériot, individual shareholder for some time now, a long time, and I've been a customer forever.
That said—and, I've, one of my sons even works for Société Générale, so, Société Générale is close to my heart. I wanted to say French, you know, what we read in the media, and, the words spoken by the President of the Republic can worry us, but I believe you have your opinion on that point, I have no doubt. And as you are no doubt, very patriotic. Talking of your CSR strategy, you didn't talk about, you didn't touch upon it, and it would... A lot of banks, because they're doing greenwashing, do not support startups who are working for our national defense, in particular, everything pertaining, we can say that, to weapons, and armament.
Currently, I think it's - we have to have a clear strategy for a bank such as yours with regard to this topic. Merci. Thank you in advance - Merci, Slawomir - for your answers. Merci, merci. Slawomir. Thank you, thank you for your question. Hello, and thank you for being so faithful on so many facets. So, the first point, first component is that we are not looking to make comments with regard to the statements of the President of the Republic, undoubtedly, when they pertain to questions of politics, of European policy, of economic European policy, and of structural European structural policies.
But to answer your question, that said, with regard to the operations of consolidation, the first comment I would make is that they are today, in Europe, extraordinarily unlikely for a whole array of reasons. The first one being, from a regulatory point of view, it's that there is overhead and capital, which are important, linked to the size of the establishments, so the banking establishments. And I went through all of the points here, but the second fundamental question of the non-achievement of it not being finished is of the banking union. It's the restrictions with regard to cross-border liquidity.
As you refer to an international operation, they are structurally limited within Europe, because one of the major synergies, that of being able to use the liquidity at the level of the banking group and not at the level of its different national presence, is very limited by the structure today of the banking union. For industrial reasons, which to extract the synergies in the context of a banking operation, historically, well beyond, well before the banking union, is extraordinarily difficult. So a comment with regards to the likelihood of transborder operation within Europe, of whatever nature that may be, that it's structurally very unlikely to occur.
With regard to us, Société Générale, and I can refer now directly to what I expressed and the roadmap, what I have expressed and the roadmap that we are following. What counts is the reinforcement, the strengthening of the company, the improvement of its capital situation, its profitability levels, the improvement of its performance levels. And that's what we are focused on. It's what we are working on day in, day out with all the teams, and every dimension that I talked about previously, and that what is counts for us today, and what is we are focusing on. With regard to the second part of your question, pertaining to defense, we have a policy with regard to that, CSR, which frames our actions within that topic.
We are convinced, as a group, as a company, that, as every sensitive industry, that one is one. We have to have clear rules in place, and we have to really look closely and monitor, from an ethical point of view, what occurs, with regard to the protection of human rights, notably. So we have a policy which applies to our activities, but, but we have activities, in that, in that, sector, in that industry. Very good. And now number 6, please. Bonjour. Hello. I am a shareholder, a private shareholder, and, as a former member of staff, Société Générale, I worked for 42 years, 42 years. I would like to re-emphasize, looking at the responsible statement by the President of the French Republic, by...
Of the purchase of SG, possible purchase of SG by Santander Bank, because that could have consequences in the medium to long term. And it seemed quite curious to me, this the fact that you are not reacting further. Bonjour. Hello. I will provide again, practically the same answer, which I've just given, and then maybe hold it at that, should other people ask this question along that, to a line. Once again, the President of the Republic, and it appears to me, but it's not my role to comment this statement, was expressing himself with regard to European policy. That's within his remit, his mandate.
But I say that the likelihood of an operation of a transborder operation within Europe is close to zero, to my point of view. That's the first point. And the second point is that what counts for Société Générale is to carry out and follow its roadmap to attain its objectives, and to reinforce it, one, its position, its competitive position, its profitability levels, its performance levels. That's what counts for a company. We need to be strong and highly performing.
Through these performance levels, we can create all the conditions in order that should ever the opportunity would occur to be a protagonist, an actor, and a player, a player, to be directly involved amongst those who have the role, the most important role of possible Europe consolidation. But once again, as of today, that conditions, the regulatory, industrial, and economic conditions are not present for it to be to exist. Number five, at the back there, if you will?...
Thank you. Hello. Charles Lucas, individual shareholder for over 15 years now. Three questions, the first with regard to the reasons for the share price. What would be the principal major areas of strategy in the past that maybe could have been identified when you arrived?
In other words, what would you have been surprised at, and reported on? The second question, your new strategy in the management of assets, could we know a bit more along those lines with regard to your alliance with Bernstein? And, what, is that looking to become the new SGAM, and possibly replace or complete Amundi? Third question, with regard to the, trading incident in Hong Kong, how can you explain or how do you explain that your security systems, which have been reinforced, since the Kerviel affair, had not identified it, straight off the bat? Thank you.
Thank you. Hello, thank you for your questions. I find that it is a bit late today, for me to state what has astonished me upon arrival.
The strategy of a company, a corporate strategy, is forever being reviewed, improved, updated, adapting all the time to the environment in which we are operating. And in reality, whether it be the environment, economic, strategic, regulatory environment. And from that point of view, I think that everybody can agree with me to say that the amplitude, the depth, the rate, the rapidity, the tempo of the changes which have occurred in our industry over the past years, since the major financial crisis, the global financial crisis, or even since the COVID, the COVID period or just after. They've been deep and wide-ranging, and what is certain, it's our forthcoming roadmap.
Intrinsically, and believe me, believe me, intrinsically, linked to your concerns pertaining to the valorization and the share price. The roadmap responds directly to what is my diagnosis, our diagnosis, indeed, which is supported by the ex-Administration Board with what needs to be changed. The capital position is one point, profitability is another. Investment in the future, the capacity to generate in the future profitability, sustainable profitability, is an important term. Are the paths, one of what we choose, and the way in which we act on a daily basis. But once again, the share price as a composite measure of the performance levels of a company.
We're concentrating on the performance levels of our company, its improvement over time, in order for it, for its performance, in order that it, sustainable performance, and stay also, and this is essential, of course, into higher share price. Bernstein? Well, Bernstein, let me clarify one point. AllianceBernstein, that is to say, our partner, is a company, an asset management company, a big one, which has a sum of $750 billion under management, assets under management. We work with a partner of that company, which doesn't manage assets, directeur, but which does share research and cash equity, acting as cash equity activities, brokerage, a share brokerage and distribution of shares to investors.
So from that point of view, it doesn't correspond at all to. It's not at all asset management that we're talking about. But that said, it is a very important metric from market activities, of course. We diversify income. It stabilizes also results because it's an activity which is one which countercyclical and stable. And there are commissions, whether they're paid, where there are no where there are no risk-taking, apart from the residual and overheads. And it's essential for our corporate customers for. Because it's all the operations of top of the of the sheets of the balance sheets, so which it's a capacity brings us three times higher than our previous capacity.
It's very strong in the United States, which is an essential market. So we can now offer that to all our institutional customers, corporate in France, in the States, and Europe, and elsewhere. And while we improve at the same time a strategic dialogue with the customers, but at the same time, we're improving our capacity to have income of a high quality and pure investment banking. In Hong Kong, our risk management systems and our safety systems identified the situation that the media reported on. And we reacted immediately at every level, disciplinary point of view, operational point of view, to solve the case, to approach it within an approach.
And you can believe me, it's rooted at the deepest the confines of my soul, with completely intransigent and demanding with regard risk controlling and the monitoring of all and the steering of all staff, whether they be on the markets or they are in the group. And it's in this in this context of this low risk profile, sustainable risk profile, that we processed that incident. Number three, please?
Hello, and thank you, Emmanuel Peter, Chair of Les Dunes SG, representing employees and former employee shareholders. I have a topic with regard to Ayvens, the investment you talked about earlier on. How is the integration of LeasePlan and also with regard to cost, what is the impact?
What are the costs of this integration of LeasePlan with regard to the initial plan? Thank you.
Hello, I will let Pierre Palmieri answer that, who is the President of the Board of Ayvens, and supervises that.
The integration of LeasePlan is in line with the plan, and things are going smoothly. We received excellent news back in March, because we obtained a regulatory agreement, which is important and crucial. We had been expecting that, waiting for it, to make operational the merger in each country. Because, LeasePlan, it's not just a major merger. Of course, there's a merger between ALD and LeasePlan, of course, but at the same time, country by country, the mergers need to happen, each of the entities. So we needed that agreement. We obtained it in March, so now we can roll out in a more operational manner, country by country, the integration. That's the first point.
Second point being that, from a synergy point of view, matters are occurring as forecast. As scheduled, synergies are scheduled for 2024, are over EUR 120 million, and that EUR 20 million had already been attained in the first quarter, and that this is ramping up progressively, of course, with excellent results, because you know that LeasePlan is selling used cars after the leasing contracts expire. So we have a platform in place, so a shared platform for selling these vehicles, which is showing to be extremely powerful. So from a quality and a quantity point of view, excellent results and the synergy scheduled for 2026 are of EUR 440 million. So we are confident with regard to our capacity to attain these.
Thank you. 7. Number 7, please. Gentlemen, I'm Mr. Levin. I'm a shareholder for Soci- of Société Générale since the privatization, and also a customer of Boursorama. I have been since its founding. So, I heard that Mr. the CEO, Mr. Krupa, is talking about the huge transformation measures. I would have liked to see exactly, on the slide, what is the criterion of the... How you measure these transformations? How are they assessed, with regard to efficiency? I don't know, maybe profits, what are the benefits? And if possible, a slide.
Also, I would like to see showing the five major measures of transformation which have been carried out, which have been implemented, and the rate of efficiency of if that could be measured, that would be much more concrete than just words, which I find sort of up in the, in the clouds.
Thank you for your question. The main indicators to follow on those of the roadmap that we presented in September 2023. That is, first, the capital ratio. For reasons I mentioned, it is the fundamental cornerstone of our transformation. And to give you some more fruit for thought, to go from 12%, ratio of 12, 12% after the implementation of the latest Basel package, a goal of 13% corresponds to the bank having more than EUR 4 billion to the capital base.
And if you want to follow the execution of that aspect, which is central in our action, it is what we do every quarter by giving you the capital base at the given point, and that we've given in terms of progression year after year on the occasion of the Investor Day of September. And that's the fact of putting aside more and more money so that that capital position will be more behind. So there's nothing simpler, except that to generate that capital quarter after quarter, you need to make a number of decisions. The first is to reduce the level of organic growth. That is to operate the bank and all of our transformations with a level of organic investment along the year that is lower. So that's an important constraint.
Continuing to describe the concrete work of transformation that triggers some thinking about the way we operate our business of structured financing. Because considering that constraint to be able to develop with the same momentum and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, and to think differently about the use of this capital. That's, for example, the strategic logic of the partnership we have been selling to, to operate our origination of structured financing with a partner that contributes with a third-party capital to help us operate with the same level of dynamism and growth, a business that would have been under constraint otherwise. So that's a good example, a perfect example of the depth of the transformation that is related to one of our strategic decisions.
The other is, obviously, the savings of EUR 1.7 billion that we aim at making on the scale of the plan. That's all of the goals that are known, and Pierre Palmieri talked about them. That is the restructuring after the merger of LeasePlan and ALD in the new Ayvens, and in fine, that consists in extract synergies and the other savings consist in reviewing our IT expenditure. And we announced it in the beginning of the year to review the structure of our corporate headquarters. So that's dozens of decisions that together contribute to meeting those objectives. The ratio, the capital ratio, the coefficient of the operating coefficient, that's 60%.
That's a huge effort for a company to reduce its operating coefficient by more than 10 points in three years. And all of the decisions that I've just described contribute to meeting those objectives. In fine, all those works will contribute to delivering the profitability on capital, and that corresponds to doubling the published profitability, the, well, profitability in the last years. And I can reassure you, it is the task of the Board of Directors to monitor quarter after quarter those KPIs.
Number ten.
And here, Lorette Philippot,
... Friends of the Earth. I'd like to ask you a question about the LNG project in Mozambique that you financed in 2020. That project is in the north of the country, was suspended in March 2021 because of attacks of rebels very close to its location. It led to 1,100 deaths. So Total is the subject of criminal legal action by survivors and victims of such attacks. People who worked for Total and their subcontractors. The French prosecutor initiated an investigation. Total's got relationships with the army in Mozambique that committed violent acts against civilians.
I'll continue with my question.
Today, the humanitarian situation is disastrous. There are attacks in the north of the country next to the site of Total, and more than 100,000 people were displaced in the region recently. So it is the responsibility of Total, but also yours, because you are financier of the project. So my questions are the following: Are you acknowledging that your bank is involved in violation of human rights through this financing? And, are you consequently refuse to support that project anymore, and the relaunch of that project announced by Total?
Thank you for this question.
I'm going to let Pierre answer.
I think, that is a-
Thank you for this question.
We put in place a new policy recently—
and there's something that is very important, is that-
We are implementing this new policy-
... at a set date when it is put in place without retroactivity. So, that operation was put in place before our change of policy. So that's an important point.
When we've got obligations with our customers, contractual obligations, legal obligations, we respect them.
Now, it doesn't prevent us from analyzing-
this project and other-
... the development of the situation.
This is what we would do-
with the sponsor, but also independent experts
And also, we listen to—
Well, information that may be given to us by certain societies. So we all follow the evolution of the situation of this project, just like any other project that we finance.
On the right-hand side, nobody else anymore, so I get back. Come back to two.
Good evening. Philippe Suplisson, the National Association of the Shareholders of France. Thank you for this, for your presentation.
I'd like to,
... ask three questions and make one remark. The first question-
... is in comparison with 2022, there's a drop of the net banking product. There's a drop by 7%, I think, and a division that is experiencing difficulties, that's retail banking in France. So, well, retail banking in France, plus private banking, plus insurance. So that's retail banking in France itself, that is encountering big difficulties. And from all points of view, the operating income, the banking product, the operating and the net income. So it leads me to ask you the question, it is an important pillar. It's flagship in the business model of Société Générale Retail Banking in France, and especially now with the deployment of SG, the brand. So last year, we talked about 10 million customers, users. That was the objective for SG.
My question is, without, you know, questioning the development of retail banking, doesn't that encourage you to reduce the price of progress, especially for, well, retail banking in France? The other question is, there's an increase of the net income, but it's due to the fact that, there were, well, there are provisions on assets, EUR 3.2 billion less than last year. So that's due to the withdrawal from the Russian market, I would assume. And the last question is, regarding Bernstein, but you, you answered, you just answered. And it was related to rumor regarding a project of disposal of your stake of 75% in the Hanseatic Bank that distributes consumer credit in Germany.
To conclude my remark, I've been a customer since 2010, Boursorama, and I'm, I feel grateful. It's a great success. But I wonder about two things, people are very reactive, very, very available. To this is almost a living commercial. But two questions, the business model of BoursoBank, is it robust enough to allow for such a deployment? Last year you talked about, well, 10 million users. You reached 6 million. It's still online banking with you know, services at a lower cost. But what about the robustness of the model? And recently, have you had difficulties in terms of hacking or piracy intrusion? Because that's very sensitive, we encouraged to change our codes on a regular basis. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, good evening, and thank you for your appraisal of Boursorama Bank. Something that we're very proud of, and in particular, the level of satisfaction that that company generates on a regular basis. I'm going to give you some elements about your different points and give the floor to Philippe for the details. So just about the drop in comparison with 2022, number of indicators, especially for France, I will let Philippe complete. But it is, first of all, the impact of the change of monetary policy. That was quick and major in 2022, with, well, the inflation developing and the one-year plan. It had different impacts. One of them is the fact that we generated a bad performance in terms of the management of coverage, coverages.
And the second is that a number of settings of the French market, and something you saw in our competitors, it was such that in France, especially, that a strong increase of the rates created, well, imbalances in banking balance sheets. There was very mechanics of adjustment of savings accounts that created imbalances. That's the main explanation. The increase of the net income, yes, it is the impact. Well, the absence of the impact of Russia. You're right. But I'm going to use your question to give you an update about, well, going from the steering of our performance in published terms. That is, in the past, we had a way of presenting the results. That was to speak about the two aspects.
There was an underlying result that we deducted a number of things. So, for example, 2022, Russia. When, I mean, we switched to a system where we don't deduct anything anymore, because for shareholders, what counts is the published results. And so we want to make our results more legible and make in the progress indicators more legible, too.
Wishes to support its customers, companies, individuals.
Ambitious also for the group.
It is the historical base of the group.
Many synergies with all the business lines.
Contribution to many financial indicators of the group is key.
The second adjective is that-
Unprecedented project.
Nothing comparable in the recent years.
It concerns 9 million customers, including 3 million customers that switched to the new bank coming from Crédit du Nord.
There was a second half year that was essential, because all of the teams, all the customers were gathered in very good conditions-
into the new platform. There were some irritating elements, obviously, some factors of change to be managed, but it was remarkably monitored and processed. And we'd like to express our
For customers .
Quickly, yeah, we showed in 2023, the model is profitable. There are three components that have got to be controlled and that we control.
The increase of the goodwill.
The promise of a bank that is very inexpensive and that has a satisfaction rate of a very high level.
Very impressive figures for 2023.
Just an aside, the first time I told you about Boursorama in 2018-
It was a bank with 1.5 million customers-
for EUR 15 billion.
With EUR 50 billion.
Just to give you an idea of the growth-
of the amplitude of the growth.
Boursorama has got a complete range of banking services, savings, loans, insurance, products, payment means.
And the third brick.
That's controlling the costs.
The cost to acquire customers or operational costs, and that brick also is respected. I will say a few words-
Yeah, the control of hacking is an issue.
It's key. For SG, for Boursorama, we devote a lot of energy to it in the protection of our customers and the monitoring of their operations.
In the back, number 6.
Philippe Chollier, individual shareholder. You explained that the remuneration of shares was to be in partly in cash, and share buyback to balance the share price. And you also said that you wanted to increase the value of the company by investing or putting money on the side. But I don't quite understand what it corresponds to, because according to me, if there was a predator, the interest with—for them would be to you know buy half of the shares, and the fewer the easier. And the company is all the more interesting because it's got a good profitability and an equity capital that is not too big.
To prove my loyalty, being a shareholder of SG since became private, a private bank, I'm one of those who refused, like employee shareholders, to participate in the,
of, well, public offer launched by your competitor.
Thank you. Well, two things. First is that to get back to share buyback, it's not absolutely accurate what you're saying, because the logic here is to say, as we reduce the number of shares, for EUR 1 of income generated at the end of the year, every share will get a more important part of that income. So the net profit per share, just as the dividend per share is going to increase. So through that mechanism, we increase the potential valuation of the company. It's not immediate, and that's why you feel that nuance in the way I speak about it. It's not necessarily mechanical. It is not immediate. It's not instant.
But the reality, and that's why it's one of the tools of financial management of the company, the reality is that in the long run, the fewer shares there are, the, you know, better the income is, and, and the more expensive you've got to buy the, the share for, because it's got a capacity of dividends per share that is higher. It is the logic of the buyback of shares. Now, for your second question about the share capital and how to reconcile the two in a bank, and it's different from most non-banking companies. Capital is not only the denominator of the yield. It's not a weight only. It is an element of strength, because it is also, at the same time, the source of the banking activity itself.
It is because we've got capital that we can operate, and that we've got the capacity to absorb shocks. That's, you know, part of the job of a bank, and in that sense, it's quite different from the activity of other companies. So to have the means to grow organically or non-organically our business, but also to have the right strength, to have the good solvency ratio, good level of confidence, including vis-à-vis of you, vis-à-vis the shareholders and investors, it is necessary to calibrate that level. We made the diagnosis, the general management, and we were approved by the board.
We determined that, that level of capital was to be higher, and we are convinced that it's a fundamental element of the valuation of the company and of its strength, and its capacity to, you know, preserve its future and the capacity to choose its future. Number nine.
Thank you. I'd like to ask a question concerning the strategy of green financing of Société Générale. On behalf of ShareAction and a group of 13 investors representing EUR 803 billion of assets, including the London Asset Management, and the list was communicated to the Société Générale. We congratulate the bank to have published plans for allocation by sector of its target of EUR 300 billion of green financing by 2025. But that allocation only covers part of its, of that target, and the absence of methodology and of allocation by sub-sectors makes it difficult for investors to know how the bank will implement those its ambitions in terms of sustainable finance.
So our questions are the following: First, Société Générale will publish the methodology behind its green strategy, and maybe will show that that represents a sharp fair share of its capital. And will the bank set its green goals by sector, including a goal in terms of renewable energy, just like some of its competitors have done in Europe, like BNP Paribas? And we'd be delighted to meet you to talk about that.
...Thank you , Pierre?
Well, our-
Target of EUR 300 billion.
As was recalled, is composed of-
Bonds and loans.
Issue is presented in the Universal Registration Document.
The latest version of it was filed in March 2024.
So we-
on track to exceed that goal. We have already reached EUR 250 billion out of EUR 300 billion.
We will review the targets in the near future.
We've not planned to give it, but within that package, we've got targets for renewable financing, but we do not publish them.
But I recall, par exemple, which we-
I would like to underline.
That for renewable financing-
We are in the,
Classification of journal that is IJGlobal, that is, referenced.
We are fourth in the world.
With $5 billion-$6 billion of production.
Increasing in comparison with 2022.
Where we were at EUR 3 billion of production.
Those are some benchmarks, external benchmarks, public.
And that shows our commitment.
In absolute terms, but also in terms of trend.
Delighted to meet up with you, to go into more details in those different fields. OK, le un. Number one, please. Bonjour. Hello. Jean-Claude Laurent, individual shareholder and customer. It's a customer who would like to make a comment. In the agency, there is advice which gives out change and EUR 5 notes. Very practical, but more and more often, it is broken down. Every time that I ask them, the tellers, they say, "Well, this doesn't depend upon us." So I don't know who it depends upon, and that's why I am asking you indirectly, can you do something, gentlemen? Can you intervene?
Thank you. I'll let Philippe maybe take this one.
You, you're lucky not every bank offers this service. Well, I'll be brief to the point, because it depends upon us, of course. Everything which you're involved with customers is, of course, of great importance to us, and we feel responsible for it. So tell us maybe where it is. Maybe there's a specific machine, because generally speaking, all the system of automatic distributors, which ensures more than distribution of bank notes, you can consult your accounts, and other operations, and it functions well, generally speaking. So maybe you have some... You've just been very unfortunate with where your machine is. Maybe you've just been drastically unlucky, and we'll see what we can do for you once you have shared where it is with us.
Number three. Hello, sirs, gentlemen. I am a shareholder and a customer. I have been for a long time of Société Générale. I would like to understand the current waltz, if you will, of advisors. It leaves me dizzy. They seem to be changing all the time of our banking agents.
Thank you. Well, hello, madam.
Thank you. Well, again, as Philippe has just expressed, this customer situation is at the heart of our preoccupations. I'll let Philippe express himself again.
First, thank you for your trust over time. That's important for us, and it obliges—makes us, it obliges us.
The point that we hear this a lot from our customers, the point you've just raised, it's one of the topics to which they are very sensitive, so I don't know in which region you are, where you are. And it's true that there has been... Sorry?
Boulogne-Billancourt.
Boulogne-Billancourt.
The west of Paris.
So, it's true that because the tense situation on the employment market, there has been... I'm sorry if it has been making you dizzy. There is, true, there has been a lot of churn of turnover employees. It is a point indeed which we have identified, listening to our customers. Now we are following, I think I spoke about this, a year or two back, we are following customer satisfaction levels. To give you an idea, we send out 150,000 surveys to really know what's happening in the field, to hear what you have to say. So the satisfaction motives, its expertise, the quality of the offer of Société Générale, generally speaking, the confidence that our customer have in their advisors.
Notre offre digitale.
...And our digital offer now amongst the irritating points that we're working on, there's one that you have mentioned. It's the turnover of agents and how you can reach them, but this is in line with what you have just expressed. So it's complicated. The years 2022, 2023 was specifically difficult from an employment point of view. Things seem to be stabilizing. I was looking at the rate of retention of people resigning, of leaving, we're -24% with regard to last year. So after a historical peak, which was quite significant, substantial, things are returning to normal.
So I hope that, with regard to you, and I would there again, be delighted to, share with you, and look at, the exact details. I hope that we can assure, as I was saying before, that we can maintain this, relationship of confidence, over time. Number seven. Hello, Daniel Conca, customer and shareholder. So I am part of several shareholding groups, which have put their shares of several companies into a nominal situation, and they don't receive their dividends regularly. Myself, for three years now, I have not received my dividends. That had happened some 10 years back already.
So, moreover, when I noticed it, I realized at the same time that the dividends, when they are regularized, were declared a first time to the tax authorities in the year during which I should have received those dividends, and then a second time when I actually did receive them. So therefore, I would like to know what you can do, 'cause, like the speaker just before me, I have spoken to a number of people, but without any success so far. Well, look, as I said at the outset, there are people who are available to speak to you outside, customer service people. I've spoken to three, four people, sir, they didn't seem too interested. They don't know. No, no.
No, I want a name, a specific name, sir. Philippe Aymerich. You know how to spell it, and we can talk about it tomorrow, madam. Can you... And I'll be all over it. Personally. Philippe, you know, in the corner there, Philippe is here. He is here. Otherwise, if not, email me directly, if no one takes care of you. Number 10.
Yes, hello. Since the presentation of the business plan in September, which had minor, which was welcomed with a -6% on the market, so nothing has moved. It's flat. The value of the bank, therefore, is the lowest, the worst, of its European peers.
You reminded us of the fact that they're in nuggets, Boursorama, KB, there's a geographical recentering, and in the mid-tier, where you are leaders. Why is the valorization not the equivalent of the valorization of the French competitors of your French peers? Is it because we are still paying for having pulled out of Russia? Or is it because we have to wait for the wedding night for the value to come back up to where it should be? And can we have an idea of how much BNP asset management represents, and the administrator who's left us, Mr. Citerne.
I don't know whether you know him, a very an excellent administrator at the time when Société Générale shone at global level. Thank you.
So with regard to the share, the share price, since the 22nd of May 2022, it has increased by just over 17%, more than seven. Significantly, therefore, and more so than other groups, which are listed on the French, the bigger groups of the French stock market, but and most of the comparable European banks. For a number of reasons, a number of reasons, some are linked to the French market, the specificities thereof, which I touched upon earlier on. And other reasons, which are really are the Société Générale ones, and that's why we're working on the strategic roadmap.
So in other words, when we say that reinforcing the equity levels and the capital of the bank, improving its profitability levels in a structural manner, not over one quarter, one semester, but in a structural manner, over time, sustainably, by operating a deep deep transformation, is the one that we talked about today. Obtaining through these different actions, at once, a solid position with regard to the capital liquidity and profitability levels, which will be much higher, doubling, in with regard to what is published, the published value of what it has been, in the recent past. It is what is going to contribute to the revalorization of the shares.
Once again, +17%, as I said, two years, with regard to Philippe Citerne, of course, he's a former, deputy director general of the company, that I was honored to work with, have been honored to work with in the past, and he has left us, recently. That was very emotional, for all those who knew him.... With regard to the share of BNP Paribas Asset Management, so it's, management for third parties, asset management for third parties, which is independent, through regulator, for regulatory reasons, and for the, the legal reasons of the bank itself, BNP Paribas. So we have three, four questions. I will take these four, last four questions. I'll get back to two. Mr. Legendre, individual shareholder.
A question with regard to page 105, Committee of Remunerations and of Nominations. I imagine that this is an exemplary committee, because it's the—they choose the administrators under the CEOs, or at any rate, to put positions and proposals forward. There was an article not long ago on Madame Rochet, who is part of this committee, with three other people, so there are four. And her links, the family links, the personal at any rate, links with the Oudéa family. Do you consider that this is something which was badly, badly judged at the time, or at the end of the day, is there no issue pertaining to that? So today, Mr.
Oudéa is no longer CEO, of course, but, if in looking at the past, sir, has that could that possibly caused problems at the time he had left her, and the Remuneration Committee, the Compensation Committee, in inverted commas, intervened? Was in the choice, or at any rate, of the selection of his successor. Could you tell us a bit more? Thank you. Yes, I would say that there's no family relationship there, family link. Madame Rochet is a member of the Nomination and Appointment Committee, who proposed a name for the successor of Mr. Oudéa, who is here to my left, and I see no conflict of interest or indeed, no conflict whatsoever. With the assistance of the mic, I'm afraid, sir, could you repeat the question?
The links of friendship, the relationship between Madame Oudéa-Castéra and this administrator, which were never indicated in the annual reports. Listen. There's no family link, is what I'm saying. I'm not talking about family links. No, there's a. I think that I've answered. It appears to me that I've answered. Number ten. Bonjour.
Hello. For Reclaim Finance. Thank you for taking my question. In September last, 2023, Société Générale took out new, encouraging commitments pertaining to the fossil industry, and that's good, because the financial industry needs to play its part with regard to fight against climate change.
That said, the progression of Société Générale is still far from being sufficient, and other French banks have gone further by really going straight to the heart of the problem, the financing of the companies who develop new oil and gas products. BNP Paribas declared recently that they that they put an end to the conventional bonds in oil and gas industry.
So, all financing, which any contribution, which can contribute to the development of new oil and gas projects carried out by oil and gas companies, are incompatible with the objective of limiting the heat to 1.5 degrees, according to the International Energy Agency, of net zero, that is used as a reference in your climate strategy for Société Générale. My questions are, are you willing to go further, and to commit to your sectoral policy to put an end to the emissions of bonds, which are of companies, which are part of the fossil expansion? If yes, are you going to stop sustainability loans and revolving credit facilities, which may support a fossil extension, which goes against your commitments? Thank you.
Thank you, for your question. I believe that, the answer is, no, we have no policy of exclusion of what you call, non-signed, non-signposted, financing, but it's not our approach. We have implemented a strategy, a policy, which is, from my point of view, one of the most ambitious, if not the most ambitious, of the whole sector. Because we're talking about, a decrease of 80%, 80%, once looking at production of oil and of gas. The second point is that our policy, has also brought us to exiting from a certain number of relationships of customers, within that industry, a significant number indeed.
When we say exiting the relationship, that is to say that we're managing where the credits, the loans are, that we, however, provided them until they end, until they mature, and then we give them no further service, including pertaining to loans of course. That has brought us to have a strong decrease of bonds to the sector, emission of bonds to the sector, because we have fewer customers. With regard to the energy related customers that we retain in our portfolio, we have restrictions. That is to say that with them, we don't finance projects dedicated to the production of oil or gas.... That said, we continue to have an overall relationship with them. We have not excluded for those customers who remain in our portfolio the emissions of non-signposted financing.
We have a regular dialogue with our customers who pertain to all these topics. We look at what their CSR policy is. We examine whether it's compatible with our ambitions, our policy, our trajectory, our roadmap, and we adapt on a regular basis. We adapt ourselves in function of the evolution and of their policies and of ours. So there you have it. So at this stage, no decision pertaining to non-signposted operations, and as well, non-signposted can also finance the renewable energies. Last two questions, 7 and then 3. 7. No, we have 7. No, 3, please. Bonjour, Monsieur President.
Hello, Mr. President. Jean-Richard, individual shareholder. Everything that you have expressed and that you have told us, I find that great, but a question remains in my mind.
How is it possible that that the share price be so low, as has been expressed by somebody before me? In other words, I'm old. I've been a customer for 52 years and a shareholder since the beginning, I forget how many years. So I've seen a lot, and I've never been told there's going to be an issue, a problem, and and there's the Kerviel issue, affair which happened, and the Bouton issue, and I remained. Maybe I was in the wrong, but what I am hoping is that everything that you have expressed, and we agree with you, we hope that it's not just words, and that it's a real- and that it will be tangible, and that is really for the best, for the company.
And a final question, an observation, a comment, as Madame says about the advisors changing all the time. It is, it's an issue. At the beginning, we had somebody who introduced me to going to the stock exchange, buying shares. It was very efficient for you, so it's a pity that that is no longer the case, but we go. And I wanted to take a paper in other companies and even you, in the past, which was an intermediate between the reference document and what I have here in hand. The reference document is 770 pages, which is quite heavy, quite cumbersome. Why is there no document an intermediate size, or maybe they don't exist anymore? Or you haven't published enough thereof, printed enough thereof?
You have been a frugal, maybe. Okay, very good, first answer. I believe that, talking in the name of the board, we really ensure that this strategy, which is described today, be implemented. We monitor that, we ensure that it is being implemented. And as the CEO said, gradually, you will see that the share price will mirror the impacts of these commitments taken. I don't know whether you wish to add something. Well, simply, sir, I would add what you said is part of the things which I really take to heart the most seriously in the exercise of my functions and in life in general. Indeed, it's the importance of giving your word.
So, we are not in control of all the circumstances which define the environment and the life cycle of a company. But I think that was the feature, the main feature itself of what we presented back in September 2023, to be, to, to have a realistic vision of what it was necessary to implement, given the plan, to build solid foundations, to dig, and not for the first quarter, not for next quarter, next year. No, for decades, for decades, and to really reinforce these foundations with realistic ambitions. That is a step in the right direction, in the direction that you call for and describe, and we take that very seriously. With regard to the document of reference, so what are we, are we being stingy here? No, not at all.
We have an integrated report which is absolutely in line with your expectations and which is published this very day. Very good. Last question, seven. You've remembered your question, maybe. No, you leave the, the... No. No, still no seven. So number three, this will be the final question. Thank you. I'm Ayvens, employee, I'm shareholder. I'm just intervening as a shareholder here. My question is for you. Sir, it's with regard to, the, shareholding, employees in the subsidiaries. You presented us these structurations with, LeasePlan, ALD, Ayvens. How is that going to evolve, with the new brands and the subsidiaries over the next years?
What strategy of accompaniment will be implemented to enable staff to be able to contribute to the shareholding of the group, to reinforce the feeling of the subsidiary employees to really feel that there is a belonging with the group, and they're isolated, and that may be in time, people who have may be now retired, but are still shareholders after 30, 40 years and beyond possibly. Thank you. Well, first, the global plan of employee share distribution is an essential part of encompassing the employees, which has many dimensions, many facets.
But to be owner of the company in which you work is from our point of view something which is very important with regard to commitment levels with regard to alignment of paying attention to the strategy of committing oneself even in an even stronger way in a more active way and committing to its success we hope. And for that reason we have reestablished an annual plan an annual plan of which will continue thus and specifically for subsidiaries. It is very important as you rightly underline that you feel that you are part of this shared adventure. Very good! I will now move on to the votes. Presentation and vote on resolutions.
Patrick, Secretary of the Board of Directors. Thank you. We are indeed going to move to the voting for the resolutions. I'll remind you of the text you have in the brochure. You have your tablet. Everybody knows how to use it. Just don't forget to press on OK to validate the vote at the end. Let me say that the quorum is 55.61%, representing 423,959,700 shares for 24,712 shareholders, and you are 631 in this very venue. So we can move to the vote. First resolution, it is. It pertains to the approval of the annual consolidated accounts. So the vote is open. Don't forget to press on OK.
Voting is closed. It is carried at 99.56%. Second resolution, approval of the annual accounts for the 2023 financial year. Voting open. Voting closed. It is carried at 99.53% of voting. The third resolution is allocation of 2023 income, the dividend of 0.90 EUR per share. Ex-dividend date, 27th of May 2024, and payment as of 29th of May 2024. Voting open. Don't forget to confirm with pressing OK. Voting closed. Carried at 98.35%. Fourth resolution, approval of the statutory auditor's report on regulated agreements, which has been presented to you. Voting open. Don't forget to press OK. Voting closed. Carried at 99.78%.
Fifth resolution now is policy of remuneration for the Chairman of the Board of Directors, which hasn't changed since 2018. Voting open. Don't forget to validate. Voting closed. It's carried at 92.32%. Sixth resolution, approval of the remuneration policy for the Chief Executive Officer and the Deputy Chief Executive Officers. That policy was presented in detail by Jérôme Contamine. Vote open. Don't forget to press OK for your vote to be accounted for. Voting closed. Resolution is carried at 89.55% of vote. Seventh resolution, remuneration policy for directors. Voting opened. Don't forget to press OK. Voting closed. Carried at 93.91%. Eighth resolution now, increase in the global annual amount of directors' remuneration, which was presented by Jérôme Contamine, also. Voting open. Don't forget to press OK. Vote closing.
It's carried at 91.39% of votes. Ninth resolution, approval of the information relating to the remuneration of each corporate officer, which was presented by Jérôme Contamine. Voting open.
Don't forget to press on OK.
Voting closed.
It is carried, and ninth resolution, 93.49% of vote.
La dixième résolution.
Tenth resolution, approval of the compensation paid in 2023, awarded in respect of the 2023 financial year to Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi.
Voting open.
Don't forget to click OK, to press OK.
Voting closed.
Resolution carried, 90.76%.
11th resolution, approval of the compensation paid in 2023, or awarded in respect of the 2023 financial year to Mr. Frédéric Oudéa, CEO until May 23, 2023. Voting open.
Don't forget to click Okay.
Voting closed.
Resolution carried, 91.71%. 12th resolution, approval of the compensation paid in 2023, awarded in respect of the 2023 financial year to Mr. Slawomir Krupa, CEO as from 23rd of May 2023. Voting open.
Don't forget to validate... Voting closed.
Resolution carried, 92.54% of voting. 13th resolution.
13th resolution is the approval of the compensation paid in 2023, awarded in respect of Sergio. To Philippe Aymerich, you can vote.
Do not forget to press on Okay.
Voting is closed.
Resolution is carried, 92.39%-
-of the votes.
14th resolution.
Approval of the compensation paid in 2023, awarded in respect of for the said financial year to Pierre Palmieri. You can vote.
Press Okay to confirm your vote.
Voting is closed.
Resolution is carried, 93.02% of the votes.
15th resolution, approval of the compensation paid in 2023, awarded in respect of financial year of 2023 to Mrs. Diony Lebot.
Voting is open.
Do not forget to validate, to press on Okay.
Voting is closed.
Resolution adopted, 92.48% of votes.
16th resolution, advisory opinion on compensation paid in 2023 to regulated persons.
Voting open.
Do not forget to confirm your vote.
Voting closed.
Resolution carried, 98.05%.
Voting open.
Do not forget to press on Okay.
Voting is closed.
Resolution is adopted, 93.97% of the votes.
18th resolution, appointment of KPMG SA as Statutory Auditor.
You can vote.
Do not forget to validate.
Voting is closed.
Resolution adopted, 99.67% of the votes.
19th resolution, appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers- Audit.
Auditor, Statutory Auditor.
Voting is open.
...Do not forget to press on okay. Voting closed. The resolution is carried, 99.66% of the votes. 20th resolution, appointment of KPMG SA as statutory auditor in charge of the mission of certifying sustainability information. That's quite simple. Voting open. Do not forget to press on okay. Voting is closed. Resolution is carried, 99.36% of the votes. 21st resolution, appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit as statutory auditor in charge of the mission of certifying sustainability information. Voting is open. Do not forget to validate your vote by pressing on okay. Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted, 99.33% of the votes. 22nd resolution, authorization to buy back shares for a period of 18 months. Voting is open. Do not forget to press on okay. Voting is closed. Resolution is carried, 98.55% of the votes.
Now it's the extraordinary part of the resolutions. 23rd, delegation of authority granted to the board of directors in order to increase the share capital with pre-emptive subscription rights, with a ceiling of 33% of the share capital. You can start voting. Do not forget to confirm your vote. Voting is closed. Resolution carried 96.77% of the votes. 24th resolution, also delegation of authority granted to the board in order to increase the share capital with, this time, cancellation of a pre-emptive subscription right, ceiling 10% of the share capital. You can vote. Do not forget to press on okay in order to confirm your vote. Voting closed. Resolution is carried, 94.01%.
25th resolution is also delegation of authority granted to the board of directors to increase the share capital without pre-emptive subscription rights to remunerate contributions in kind and granted to the company, ceiling 10%. Voting open. Do not forget to confirm your vote. Voting closed. Resolution is adopted, 96.36% of the votes. 26th resolution is delegation of authority granted to the board in order to proceed with the issuance of super subordinated bonds convertible into shares with cancellation of pre-emptive subscription rights. Voting is open. Do not forget to validate. Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted, 95.95% of the votes. 27th resolution, authorization granted to the board of directors in order to proceed with cancellation of pre-emptive subscription rights, share capital increases or sale of shares reserved for members of comp...
of the company or group, savings plans. You can vote. Do not forget to press on okay to, confirm your vote. Voting closed. Resolution, is carried, 97.45% of the votes. 28th resolution, that's the authorization granted to, to the board of directors, in order to proceed with the free allocations of performance shares. Voting is open. Do not forget to validate. Voting is closed. A utorisation, to proceed with the allocations of performance shares for the benefit of employees other than the regulated persons. Voting is open . Do not forget to validate. Voting is closed.
Voting is open. Voting is closed . The resolution is adopted at 98.48% of the votes. 1st resolution, notification of the bylaws, that's mostly relating to the election of directors representing employees. [Foreign language] Resolution carried 99.10% of the votes. 32nd resolution is also a modification of the bylaws relating to the terms and conditions for the election of the director representing shareholder employees appointed by the ordinary general meeting of shareholders. Have a good evening.