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Local contacts

France: +33 (0)1 53 43 87 00 (9am - 6pm)
Luxembourg: +352 47 93 11 1 (8:30am - 5:30pm)
Monaco: +377 97 97 58 00 (9/12am - 2/5pm)
Switzerland: Geneva +41 22 819 02 02
& Zurich +41 44 218 56 11 (8:30am - 5:30pm)

You would like to contact us about the protection of your personal data?

Please contact the Data Protection Officer of Societe Generale Private Banking France by sending an email to the following address: protectiondesdonnees@societegenerale.fr.

Please contact the Data Protection Officer of Societe Generale Luxembourg by sending an email to the following address: lux.dpooffice@socgen.com.

For customers residing in Italy, please contact BDO, the external provider in charge of Data Protection, by sending an email to the following address: lux.dpooffice-branch-IT@socgen.com

Please contact the Data Protection Officer of Societe Generale Private Banking Monaco by sending an email to the following address: list.mon-privmonaco-dpo@socgen.com

Please contact the Data Protection Officer of Societe Generale Private Banking Switzerland by sending an email to the following address : ch-dataprotection@socgen.com

You need to make a claim?

Societe Generale Private Banking aims to provide you with the best possible quality of service. However, difficulties may sometimes arise in the operation of your account or in the use of the services made available to you.

Your private banker  is your privileged contact to receive and process your claim.

 If you disagree with or do not get a response from your advisor, you can send your claim to the direction  of Societe Generale Private Banking France by email to the following address: FR-SGPB-Relations-Clients@socgen.com or by mail to: 

Société Générale Private Banking France
29 boulevard Haussmann CS 614
75421 Paris Cedex 9

Societe Generale Private Banking France undertakes to acknowledge receipt of your claim within 10 (ten) working days from the date it is sent and to provide you with a response within 2 (two) months from the same date. If we are unable to meet this 2 (two) month deadline, you will be informed by letter.

In the event of disagreement with the bank  or of a lack of response from us within 2 (two) months of sending your first written claim, or within 15 (fifteen) working days for a claim about a payment service, you may refer the matter free of charge, depending on the nature of your claim, to:  

 

The Consumer Ombudsman at the FBF

The Consumer Ombudsman at the Fédération Bancaire Française (FBF – French Banking Federation) is competent for disputes relating to services provided and contracts concluded in the field of banking operations (e.g. management of deposit accounts, credit operations, payment services etc.), investment services, financial instruments and savings products, as well as the marketing of insurance contracts.

The FBF Ombudsman will reply directly to you within 90 (ninety) days from the date on which she/he receives all the documents on which the request is based. In the event of a complex dispute, this period may be extended. The FBF Ombudsman will formulate a reasoned position and submit it to both parties for approval.

The FBF Ombudsman can be contacted on the following website: www.lemediateur.fbf.fr or by mail at:

Le Médiateur de la Fédération Bancaire Française
CS 151
75422 Paris CEDEX 09

 

The Ombudsman of the AMF

The Ombudsman of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF - French Financial Markets Authority) is also competent for disputes relating to investment services, financial instruments and financial savings products.

For this type of dispute, as a consumer customer, you have therefore a choice between the FBF Ombudsman and the AMF Ombudsman. Once you have chosen one of these two ombudsmen, you can no longer refer the same dispute to the other ombudsman.

The AMF Ombudsman can be contacted on the AMF website: www.amf-france.org/fr/le-mediateur or by mail at:

Médiateur de l'AMF, Autorité des Marchés Financiers
17 place de la Bourse
75082 PARIS CEDEX 02
FRANCE


The Insurance Ombudsman

The Insurance Ombudsman is competent for disputes concerning the subscription, application or interpretation of insurance contracts.

The Insurance Ombudsman can be contacted using the contact details that must be mentioned in your insurance contract.

To ensure that your requests are handled effectively, any claim addressed to Societe Generale Luxembourg should be sent to:

Private banking Claims department
11, Avenue Emile Reuter
L-2420 Luxembourg

Or by email to clienteleprivee.sglux@socgen.com and for customers residing in Italy at societegenerale@unapec.it

The Bank will acknowledge your request within 10 working days and provide a response to your claim within 30 working days of receipt. If your request requires additional processing time (e.g. if it involves complex research), the Bank will inform you of this situation within the same 30-working day timeframe.

In the event that the response you receive does not meet your expectations, we suggest the following:

Initially, you may wish to contact the Societe Generale Luxembourg Division responsible for handling claims, at the following address:

Corporate Secretariat of Societe Generale Luxembourg
11, Avenue Emile Reuter
L-2420 Luxembourg

If the response from the Division responsible for claims does not resolve the claim, you may wish to contact Societe Generale Luxembourg's supervisory authority, the “Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier”/“CSSF” (Luxembourg Financial Sector Supervisory Commission):

By mail: 283, Route d’Arlon L-1150 Luxembourg
By email:
direction@cssf.lu

Any claim addressed to Societe Generale Private Banking Monaco should be sent by e-mail to the following address: servicequalite.privmonaco@socgen.com or by mail to our dedicated department: 

Societe Generale Private Banking Monaco
Middle Office – Service Réclamation 
11 avenue de Grande Bretagne
98000 Monaco

The Bank will acknowledge your request within 2 working days after receipt and provide a response to your claim within a maximum of 30 working days of receipt. If your request requires additional processing time (e.g. if it involves complex researches…), the Bank will inform you of this situation within the same 30-working day timeframe. 

In the event that the response you receive does not meet your expectations, we suggest to contact the Societe Generale Private Banking Direction that handles the claims by mail at the following address: 

Societe Generale Private Banking Monaco
Secrétariat Général
11 avenue de Grande Bretagne 
98000 Monaco

Any claim addressed to the Bank can be sent by email to:

sgpb-reclamations.ch@socgen.com
 

Clients may also contact the Swiss Banking Ombudsman: 

www.bankingombudsman.ch

 

Understanding Responsible Investment #14 - Focus on Private Equity

"Understanding Responsible Investment" Podcasts

Episode #14: "Focus on Private Equity"

 

by our CSR expert Dorothée Chapuis,

Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Société Générale Private Banking Europe.

Interview with Sophie Bernard, 

from the Private Equity Offerings team of Societe Generale Private Banking.

Click on the button below to play.

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Full Script:

Dorothée Chapuis: Hello everyone and welcome to the fourteenth and penultimate episode of our "Understanding Responsible Investment" podcasts series. I am Dorothée Chapuis, Head of CSR for Societe Generale Private Banking Europe. To address today's topic I am very pleased to introduce Sophie Bernard, Private Equity Funds Expert at Societe Generale Private Banking. In this episode, we propose to explore together sustainable investment in the non-listed assets sphere.

Dorothée Chapuis: Hello Sophie!

Sophie Bernard: Hello Dorothée!

Dorothée Chapuis: Before getting into the heart of the matter, could you remind us briefly what the Private Equity asset class consists of, please?

Sophie Bernard: Yes, of course, Dorothée. Private Equity consists of taking stakes in the capital of unlisted companies, at various stages of their development. It brings together the skills of fund managers, analysts and company directors with the common objective of creating value. Private equity is an essential vector of economic development and is now recognized as a driving force for company growth, job creation and the promotion of new generations of business leaders. In general, private investors access this asset class through funds that are often referred to as private equity funds. But while private equity offers interesting diversification with potentially high returns compared to other asset classes, it is still an investment with a risk of  partial or full capital loss. It is also an illiquid investment, especially for the first four or five years, with no possibility of disposal. The subscription commits the investor over the long term, with the investment being unwound mainly between the fourth or fifth year and the tenth year.

 

Dorothée Chapuis: Thank you for that reminder. Now let's get down to the facts, Sophie. How do the managers of these private equity funds integrate sustainability factors? Because, as you can guess, the investment process of a private equity fund is not comparable to that of a fund invested in listed shares.

Sophie Bernard: Exactly, Dorothée. The study phase of the file is longer, the business model is dissected because the investor, who is going to make a long-term commitment, needs to understand where, how and on what scale value creation is possible. Thus, by scrutinising the company and having frequent contact with the management team, private equity fund managers are able to assess the company's degree of commitment to sustainable development issues under the ESG pillars that we now know: Environment, Social and Governance. And they are therefore able to introduce ESG factors into their investment selection criteria. This is a growing trend among private equity fund managers. A recent study by PwC France(1) from 2019 shows that in France, more than 95% of the management companies surveyed report having an ESG policy in place or under development and 89% use and develop key performance indicators to monitor, measure and report on the progress of their responsible investment policy. Many of these management companies are signatories to the UN PRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment).

Dorothée Chapuis: Indeed, Sophie, we can therefore understand that responsible investment can be deployed in private equity, with a direct impact on companies: because of the investment fund's ownership of the company and the close proximity between the funds managers and the companies - the former very often having a seat on the board of directors of the latter. This proximity offers investors a real lever of commitment which, I remind you, is one of the characteristics of responsible investment. But is it easy to implement a responsible investment process in private equity funds?

Sophie Bernard: This is not always easy, especially because extra-financial data is not always formalized or readily available. Large companies are obliged by regulation to publish their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) report and, as a result, have implemented ESG indicators; thus, they all have an ESG rating. In the small and medium-sized (SME) business segment, companies have generally taken this step as well. However, not all SMEs are yet aware of their social responsibility. They are also less equipped in this area and the information they communicate is not always homogeneous or comparable, which makes the task of investors a little more difficult. However, funds are increasingly raising awareness and standardising their holdings by asking them to fill in harmonised questionnaires: the analysis of ESG criteria, which was very often qualitative, is thus becoming increasingly quantitative. The ESG approach, which used to be guided by ESG risk analysis in the pre-investment phase, is now increasingly part of the fund's post-investment action plan. The fund thus contributes to improving the consideration of sustainable development in the company's operations.

 

Dorothée Chapuis: Let's take the example of the carbon footprint. Listed companies are increasingly able to provide the amount of their direct and indirect CO2 emissions. For SMEs, the exercise can be more difficult: focused on their development, less mature, they do not always have sufficient resources to calculate their carbon footprint. But what is positive is that there is a growing offer to assist SMEs in structuring their extra-financial data, which funds are increasingly imposing. Sophie, how do you see the private equity industry evolving in terms of responsible management?

Sophie Bernard: As you can see, private equity funds are making progress and I am convinced that taking ESG factors into account is becoming the norm. A good illustration of this trend is the France Relance label set up by the French government. This label recognises funds that are committed to rapidly mobilising new resources to support the equity and quasi-equity of French SMEs and Midcaps, whether listed or not. In order to use the label, mutual funds must comply with the eligibility criteria defined in the Relance Label Charter, including a set of ESG criteria, which must guide the investment and shareholder engagement policy of the labelled funds. Another emerging trend in the private equity sector is impact investing, i.e. investments that have both a financial and a societal objective, particularly in the environmental field.

Dorothée Chapuis: On this last notion I invite our listeners to listen to episode number 10 which deals with impact investing. In any case, we understand that the non-listed companies segment is an interesting space for responsible investment. Thank you very much Sophie for these clarifications.

Sophie Bernard: You're welcome, thank you Dorothée.

 


This podcast is part of a series of episodes proposed by Societe Generale Private Banking to understand responsible investment. It is available on the Spotify and Apple Podcasts streaming platforms via the "#Private Talk by Societe Generale Private Banking" program and on our website www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com. Feel free to subscribe to be notified when the next episode is released and to spread the word.

 


(1)  https://www.pwc.fr/fr/publications/developpement-durable/private-equity-2019.html 

Would you like to discuss this subject further with us?

Important information
The content provided on this page is for informational purposes only and is not contractually binding. The materials contained herein are not intended to provide investment advice or any other investment service and do not constitute a personal recommendation, advice, or an offer from Societe Generale Private Banking to purchase, sell or subscribe to investment services and/or financial products and/or investments in the aforementioned asset class. Some of the products, services and solutions described can carry various risks and involve the potential loss of the entire invested amount, if not theoretically unlimited loss. As such, they are reserved for a certain category of investors and/or adapted solely for informed investors who are eligible for such products, services and solutions. The information set out above shall not be considered legal, tax or accounting advice.
The wealth management and financial solutions, offers, products, services and activities mentioned on this page depend on each client’s personal situation, the legislation applying to them, and their tax residence. Consequently, the offer presented may not be eligible for implementation, adaptation or approval at all of the Societe Generale Private Banking entities and must comply with Societe Generale Group's Tax Code of Conduct. Furthermore, access to some of these products, services and solutions is subject to specific conditions, notably in respect of eligibility.
Please contact your private banking adviser to check that these offers meet your needs and are suited to your investor profile (knowledge, experience in investment, financial situation, including ability to withstand losses, and investment objectives, including risk tolerance).
Societe Generale Private Banking shall under no circumstances be held liable for any decision taken by a reader on the basis of this information. Before Societe Generale Private Banking can provide a potential investor with an investment service and/or a subscription to financial products, the investor must first be made aware of, understand and sign the related informative and contractual documentation, notably in respect of the associated risks (prospectus, Key Investor Information Document, Term Sheet, etc.). The potential investor must not base his/her investment decision and/or give investment instructions solely on the basis of this document.
All Societe Generale Private Banking entities reserve the right not to update or amend this document and shall accept no liability in this regard. The present document has the sole aim of informing investors, who will make their investment decisions without overly relying on this publication. The Societe Generale Private Banking entities shall under no circumstances be held liable for the accuracy, relevance or exhaustiveness of this information. The Societe Generale Private Banking entities give no explicit or implicit guarantees as to the accuracy or exhaustiveness of this information or of the profitability or performance of any asset class, country or market.
This document is not intended as a list or summary of all the terms and conditions pertaining to financial products, nor to identify all or some of the risks that may be involved in the acquisition and/or sale of a financial product/investment in any of the aforementioned asset classes.
The historical data and the information and opinions herein have been obtained from, or are based upon, external sources that Societe Generale Private Banking entities believe to be reliable but have not been independently verified. The Societe Generale Private Banking entities shall under no circumstances be liable for the accuracy, relevance or exhaustiveness of this information. Information provided on past performance, even repeated performances, is in no way a guarantee of future performance and may not be repeated. The value of an investment is not guaranteed and the value of investments may fluctuate. These forecasts about future performances are based on assumptions which may not be realised and do not therefore provide any assurance or guarantee with regard to the expected results of the investments in the aforementioned asset classes.
Generally speaking, Societe Generale Group companies may be market makers, conduct transactions involving the securities referred to on this page, and may provide banking services to companies whose asset classes are mentioned on this page, as well as the subsidiaries thereof. Societe Generale Group companies may, from time to time, conduct transactions, generate profits, hold securities or act as adviser, broker or banker in relation to these securities, or derivatives thereof, or in connection with the asset classes mentioned in this document. Societe Generale Group companies may, from time to time, acquire or liquidate positions on the securities, or the underlying assets (including derivatives), mentioned on this page or, where applicable, any other assets. Consequently, this may affect any returns for a potential investor either directly or indirectly. Societe Generale Group companies have no obligation to disclose this page or take it into account in providing advice or conducting transactions with a client or on behalf of a client. The administrative structure of the Societe Generale Group includes all safeguards needed to identify, control and manage conflicts of interest. To this end, Societe Generale Private Banking entities have implemented a conflict of interest management policy to prevent such conflicts of interest. For further details, Societe Generale Private Banking clients may refer to the conflict of interest management policy given to them by the Societe Generale Private Banking entity of which they are clients.

Dorothée Chapuis Head of CSR for SGPB Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland Societe Generale Private Banking