French bank Société Générale suffered a devastating loss in the first quarter. The financial group made less money from stock trading due to turmoil on the stock markets. In addition, the bank set aside considerably more money for possible losses on loans due to the corona crisis.
The income generated by Société Générale from stock trading and investment fund services declined by almost 99 percent to 9 million euros due to the major market turmoil on an annual basis. This took a bite of more than 42 percent from the profit of the division for investment services in international markets.
Amid all lockdown measures in France and other countries, revenues from banking services to businesses and individuals also declined. In addition, a provision for high-risk loans of 820 million was added, tripling the amount set aside a year earlier. As a result, a loss of EUR 326 million remained. In the first quarter of 2019, the bank still recorded a net profit of 686 million euros.