48
RUSSIA - FRANCE
W
hy did Société Générale enter
the Russianmarket? Can you
tell us about the different steps
in this process?
Didier Hauguel:
Russia is an attractive
market due to its high potential for
business and trading, because of its
energy wealth and mining resources.
With 140 million inhabitants, it is also
a major market because of the size of
its population! We should remember
that Société Générale opened a
branch in Russia 150 years ago, very
shortly after its creation; it was one
of the main Russian banks in the
early 20
th
century but then had to
leave the country after the 1917
revolution.
We came back very early, more than
25 years ago, with one of the first
representative offices, a subsidiary
and, a series of acquisitions in
the mid-2000s, including Rosbank,
DeltaCredit, our mortgage credit
subsidiary and Rusfinance Bank, for
consumer credit. Today, we operate
in Russia with these three brands.
What are the main activities of Ros-
bank and of your other subsidiaries?
Ilya Polyakov:
Rosbank is a universal
bank whose activities cover every
segment: we work with individual
customers and the bank has 350
branches all over Russia, from East
to West. It is one of the largest
networks in the market and it is the
only international bank that is
present all over the country.
We also work with corporate
customers, SMEs and international
companies. We are a bank of choice
for the latter, whether they are
French, European, Asian, American,
etc. We support them in their deve-
lopment and meet their banking
needs in Russia.
Our subsidiary Rusfinance Bank is
recognized as one of the leaders in
automobile finance and DeltaCredit
is a major player in the mortgage
industry. We are also present in
Russia with ALD Automotive, the
world number two in automobile
leasing and the number one in
Europe and in Russia.
Finally, Société Générale Insurance
works in synergy with the other busi-
ness units of the Group in Russia in a
bancassurance model that is similar
to the one in France.
Who are your customers and what is
your analysis of their expectations?
I. P.:
All the different segments of our
clientele have their own expecta-
tions. Globally, we are seen in Russia
as a benchmark bank in terms of
international standards. We are one
of the most solid banks in the
market, which is very important for
all the customers, especially compa-
nies, as the Russian bank market has
been transformed in recent years,
with a reduction in the number of
banks.
Credibility is therefore a fundamental
criterion for every consumer. In
March 2018, Rosbank was ranked by
Forbes magazine as the most reliable
bank in Russia from among a hundred
establishments.
Société Générale operates all over Russia. Through Rosbank, it
makes its universal bank activities available to individuals and
companies and it also provides specialized financial services
through several subsidiaries.
Didier HAUGUEL,
Chief Country Officer for Russia,
Société Générale
and
Ilya POLYAKOV,
CEO de Rosbank
©DR
©DR
‘Our commitment is
long-established, revived and abiding
’
A FEW FIGURES
Société Générale in Russia (in 2017):
- 4 million customers
- 16,000 staff members
- 15 billion euros of total balance sheet
- 150 million euros of net income
©DR
