Responsible solidarity bank products**

Objectives

  • Preserve the Group's image as a responsible company.
  • Support solidarity actions through bank products.

Priority

  • Enhance the Group's range of responsible banking products and services.

Highlights in 2010

  • Increase in the range of charity bank cards with the launch of business card, “Affaires Environnement”.
  • Launch of a new solidarity savings offer.
  • Launch of a made-to-measure microcredit offer.

A “citizen card” so that our clients' purchases don't just mean something to them

Mid-2008, Societe Generale launched a collection of theme cards that allow customers to support various charities. The cards enable customers to contribute towards the main charity actions of partner associations1. Each time the customer makes a payment, Societe Generale donates € 0.05 to the association.
Today, approximately 50,000 Societe Generale customers hold a "charity" bank card.
At the end of 2010, the Group went on to launch a new business card, “Affaires Environnement”, via which customers can contribute to protecting and preserving the environment thanks to:
  • the replacement of paper card statements. Statements can now be downloaded free of charge from the secure website, www.sogecartenet.fr;
  • a special design (optional) to promote sustainable development;
  • the donation of € 0.05 euros to the French Forest Agency (ONF) for each payment made using the card. This money is used to finance projects linked to the protection of biodiversity and the replanting of forests, with each business and their employees that have subscribed to the cards receiving regular news on their progress.
    The first project to be financed thanks to the help of Societe Generale is the replanting of the communal forest of Lamarque-Pontacq in the Hautes Pyrénées region.
In line with the Group’s CSR policy and commitment, all new business card contracts signed since the end of November 2010 automatically include this service to which existing bank card holders can also subscribe at no extra cost.

A new solidarity savings service

Introduced in December 2010, Societe Generale’s new solidarity savings service means customers can also make their savings work for a good cause by donating part or all of the interest on their passbook accounts to one or several humanitarian associations or foundations that work to promote health and the environment.
The service is available with the following passbook accounts:
  • Livret A
  • Livret de Développement Durable
  • Livret Jeune
  • Compte sur Livret
  • Livret Epargne Plus Société Générale
Interest earned is paid in the form of equal donations to one, two or three associations.
  • Donations are made each January when the annual interest is calculated.
  • Customers can choose to donate 25, 50, 75 or 100% of the interest earned.
  • Donations can be capped at a set amount.
For every donation made, Societe Generale also donates 10% of the interest paid to an association.

Conciliance

Conciliance is a service that enables customers to donate all or part of the income generated on their savings to one or more charities from a list of some thirty organizations.
In 2010, the service collected a total € 52,633 for charity.

Customer loyalty and charitable giving

SG Services is a retail banking subsidiary that manages the Group's Jazz, Pack Jeunes and Alterna loyalty schemes. Subscribers to these schemes collect points which entitle them to a selection of gifts. Under the regulations governing sales with premiums, Societe Generale donates a financial contribution on each gift order which is then paid in full to various associations. Thanks to these schemes, the bank was able to pay € 80,000 to Handicap International and to the Restaurants du Cœur in 2010.
Subscribers can also convert their loyalty points into donations to Handicap International, with SG Services contributing a further 40% of the donations made. All told, the bank's different schemes collected € 219,000 for charity in 2010.

Sustainable development savings and loans

The ceiling on Societe Generale's livret Développement durable (which replaced the bank's former savings passbook) was increased from € 4,000 to € 6,000 in January 2007.
Funds saved must, however, be used to finance work to allow for energy savings in customer homes. Launched by Societe Generale in May 2007, sustainable development loans are granted in the form of a consumer loan (from € 500 to € 21,500 over a maximum of 7 years), or a home loan (for sums of over € 21 500, the duration of the loan can be extended by up to 30 years) depending on the type of work to be carried out.
Since the launch of the range, some 8,700 loans have been granted for a global amount of nearly € 113 million.

Eco interest-free loan

Societe Generale introduced its Eco interest-free loan in June 2009. Under the terms of the loan, individual customers can borrow up to € 30,000 over a period of 10 years to finance work to allow for energy savings in their homes. At the end of 2010, Societe Generale had granted nearly 8,000 Eco loans representing a total € 134 million.

Loans for young professionals

In partnership with France's Caisse Nationale d’Allocations Familiales and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Societe Generale is the only bank to issue the Prêt Jeunes Avenir. Reserved for young people between the ages of 18 and 24, it is intended to finance the costs linked to a new job. Ranging from € 500 to € 5,000, it is interest-free and there are no bank charges.
Since it was first introduced at the end of 2007, Societe Generale has given a helping hand to close to 2,300 young people starting out in their professional lives.
The envelope allocated by the Caisse des Dépôts was used in full over the course of 2010 and has not been renewed which means that this type of loan is no longer available for the time being.

Personal microcredit

Working to support the personal projects of individuals that are not eligible for traditional loans, certain Regional Divisions of Societe Generale have developed a microcredit offer in partnership with two French associations: Restaurants du Cœur and CRESUS.
These associations help borrowers plan their individual projects before applying for a loan as well as accompanying them throughout the repayment period.
Loans can vary between € 300 and € 3,000, with a preferential rate and no bank charges.
** In line with our Global Compact commitments
NOTES
  1. At the end of 2010, partner associations included: the French Red Cross, Institut Pasteur, Association des Paralysés de France, Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer, Ordre de Malte France, Ligue contre le Cancer, UNAPEI, Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, Trente Millions d'Amis, Fondation Sylvain Augier, Petits Frères des Pauvres, Secours Catholique, Terre Fraternité, Un enfant par la main, CARE, ELA, Guides de Chamonix.