Surprise surprise: biz leaders unhappy with French prez

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By Lionel Laurent

JOUY-EN-JOSAS, France (Reuters) - French business leaders stepped up criticism of the new left-wing government on Friday, lamenting a perceived anti-corporate bias and lack of competitiveness, despite the prime minister's recent efforts to mollify them.

The presidency of Socialist Francois Hollande, who has angered some in the corporate world for adopting what they say are "soak-the-rich" tax policies and anti-business rhetoric, came in for heavy scorn on the last day of the Medef business lobby's annual conference.

As well as introducing a 75 percent tax on millionaires, the Hollande administration is eyeing more taxes on banks and energy companies and has pledged to crack down on risky investment banking.

"We are sick and tired of being told how to behave," Sodexo Chairman Pierre Bellon told Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who was sitting on the same debate panel at the conference.

Slimmed-down banks get real with towering offices

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By Tom Bill, Lionel Laurent and Christian Plumb


Aug 22 (Reuters) - In summer 2007, French bank Societe Generale drew up plans for a stylish glass building to house 3,500 traders at the foot of its twin-tower headquarters in La Defense, the business district of west Paris.

The five-storey block of trading floors, each the size of half a soccer pitch, will open its doors later this year, but the bank will struggle to fill the 250 million euro ($309 million) structure since the intervening financial crisis forced it to cut 880 jobs in France.

"It's been such a saga," said one SocGen trader who is destined to move in. "We've been told that we may end up simply having to rent it out, or put in a gym if we can't fill it."

London Calling For Tax-Soaked French Bankers

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You can also see my interview with euronews below, entitled "French bankers ready to bolt?"

(Reuters) - The City of London financial district, though diminished by scandals and job cuts, is proving irresistible to fed-up Parisian bankers fleeing France's rising taxes and the feeling that they're not best loved at home.

French financial groups big and small, from advisory firms and private equity houses to big banks like Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), are looking at London as a possible shelter from a new 75 percent tax rate on top French earners, bankers say.

SocGen fires starting gun on asset sales

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By Lionel Laurent

PARIS | Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:45am EDT

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Societe Generale's sale of its stake in asset manager TCW was a welcome move as the French bank plays catch-up with peers further ahead in their capital-raising efforts during the euro zone crisis, but the disposal was only a first step.

The question now is whether France's No. 2 listed bank will be able to sell other, non-U.S. units over the coming year at acceptable prices, potentially getting a capital boost that would lift investor confidence, analysts said on Friday.

"Societe Generale could still sell its custody business, or potentially its insurance unit, or its consumer-credit division in Italy," Natixis analyst Alex Koagne said.
"But as long as there is no appetite for euro-denominated assets it is going to be tricky."

What do women want? Handbag insurance and a handyman hotline, obviously.

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This story is definitely the only time I have inspired a petition - in this case, to get a French bank to stop selling a product. Toxic debt? Predatory lending? Not at all, rather just a pink card with some extra offers targeting women...

By Lionel Laurent

PARIS | Thu Aug 9, 2012 12:01pm BST

(Reuters) - What does every woman want? One French bank thinks it knows the answer: Handbag insurance and a handyman hotline.

The pink-and-gold-coloured "Pour Elle" bank card, part of a cut-price summer offer by Paris-based lender Societe Generale, promises to "simplify" women's lives with up to 200 euros ($250) of handbag theft insurance and a dedicated hotline for up to two electrician, locksmith or other handyman callouts per year.

As useful as these products might be, not all women are happy to be singled out by their bank as needing special help.

"It's a little cheeky to promote both at the same time as 'female crises' that could arise," said Lys-Aelia Hart, a 24-year-old assistant art buyer living in Paris. "In my eyes, many men don't know how to deal with a serious electrical issue - on the contrary, they'd probably get killed."