The banking sector is in constant evolution, and as a result of new developments within the fintech sphere and the introduction of new technological advancements, firms are pushed to perpetually upscale their game in order to remain competitive in a market that is always bringing in new players. Within the sector of securitised derivatives, some financial institutions are looking for different ways to boost the reach of their services.
Société Générale (SocGen), a global provider of licensed securitised derivatives for retail trading and investments, has expanded its commercial partnership with Spectrum Markets, an enabler of retail trading and investments, to make some of its products available to investors in Italy through the platform.
Although SocGen is not a new player within the Italian market, where it has been in operation since 1967, the partnership with Spectrum Markets would enhance the firm’s capabilities to offer listed securitised derivatives to its clients. The platform already allows SocGen to leverage its services to operate in a number of European countries.
Expanding the business’s reach
Didier Imbert, head of public distribution Europe for SocGen, says that the bank’s expansion of its product offering available on Spectrum Markets’ platform to Italy came as a natural step after its previous listings in Spain and in the Nordic countries at the end of last year.
By issuing its products through Spectrum Markets, SocGen can leverage its network of European financial services providers to meet retail investors in multiple jurisdictions and with extended daily working hours. Other products available on the platform include single equity warrants and daily constant leverage products, which are available to retail investors through banks and brokers.
Mr Imbert says that the firm is also focusing on further consolidating its presence in the 13 European countries where it already operates. “We are in a leading position within several of the countries where we do business and we need to make sure that we protect and strengthen our franchise,” he comments. He also adds that, for the time being, the firm is primarily looking to venture into other jurisdictions through partnerships with online banks and neobanks that also have a pan-European strategy.
Mr Imbert also adds that when a firm wants to expand abroad, it needs to make sure that the new country has functioning distribution channels that can deliver the products to its end clients. “Tapping into a new country is not only a question of listing instruments on an exchange; you need to make sure that partners such as online banks or brokers will actually make those products easily available to their clients, among other things,” he says.
A growing partnership
SocGen began doing business with Spectrum Markets last year when the bank entered a deal with the pan-European trading venue to boost the number of services it provides in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Spain. In those jurisdictions, SocGen acts as a liquidity provider and market-maker for financial instruments.
“Société Générale is a leading issuer of exchange-traded investment products in Europe, with more than 30 years of know-how in derivatives,” says Nicky Maan, CEO at Spectrum Markets. He adds that the bank’s range of products is “well-suited” to the needs of retail investors, which matches Spectrum Markets’ strategy of hosting a focused portfolio of services that offer more options on the type and length of investments.
More the Italian banking sector
The membership lets SocGen make use of Spectrum Markets’ single pan-European International Securities Identification Number approach to listing. The scheme allows products to be listed in multiple countries while cutting costs and the time spent on listing products on multiple exchanges.
“When we started four years ago, we were the first who took the challenge to design a pan-European exchange for the retail investor that would be easy to access and cost-efficient,” says Mr Maan. He adds that noticing the rising retail investor demand early on and focusing solely on a specific client group and its evolving needs is what gave the firm a competitive edge that set it apart from its peers.
“Although entering into the partnership with SocGen expanded our products’ outreach, there is still a lot of room for growth within our business,” adds Mr Mann.
