Consolidation among Europe's private banks will give French lender Societe Generale opportunities for more takeovers in this sector, a leading SocGen executive told Reuters.
"We are probably entering, over the coming weeks or months, into a period of consolidation among private banks. We will definitely be part of the consolidation phase," SocGen's global head of private banking Daniel Truchi said in an interview.
"Actually, I believe the opportunities are more in Europe rather than any other region. In England, we are still looking at opportunities," added Truchi, who was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by SocGen and Forbes.
In recent years, SocGen has proven willing to carry out relatively small private banking acquisitions.
Earlier this year, SocGen bought a private client investment arm of Baring Asset Management.
In 2007, the company's SG Hambros Bank bought ABN AMRO's London-based private banking business, while SocGen first acquired the historic British Hambros brand itself with a 300 million pounds ($486.8 million) takeover in 1997.
Earlier this month, SocGen's first-quarter profits fell short of forecasts after turmoil in the Arab world offset a strong investment banking performance.
Group chief executive Frederic Oudea said SocGen, which was hit by a rogue trading scandal in 2008, was on track to meet its 2012 target of achieving 6 billion euros in net profit.
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