When Christophe Mianné became deputy head of Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) at the start of 2012, his immediate priority was balance sheet rationalisation amid the fall-out from the eurozone crisis. Scarce dollar funding in particular needed to be focused selectively on key business lines only, while the escalating Basel regulations put a fresh premium on the use of capital. Mr Mianné pushed SG CIB teams to operate an originate-to-distribute model more familiar to US than European banks.
The eurozone crisis has abated, and the context for European banks has improved significantly. If anything, European banks are finding themselves underlent after several years of deleveraging. SG CIB continues to distribute a substantial share of its origination and has all the teams and competencies required to increase the share it distributes. But the distribution is no longer essential to deal flow.
