SocGen set to choose investment banking boss Krupa as CEO, Figaro reports By Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) -Slawomir Krupa is set to become the new chief executive of Societe Generale (OTC:), following his current position as head of investment banking, Le Figaro said on Friday, citing several sources.

Krupa will be tasked with overhauling France’s third-biggest listed bank amid risks of a global recession. A board meeting on the nomination will be held on Friday, the newspaper added.

The bank was not immediately available to respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Krupa has been with SocGen since 1996, longer than any rivals for the job. His latest role, since January 2021, was head of global banking and investor solutions activities.

He joined SocGen as an inspector and made his way up, with jobs in Europe and the United States. From 2016 to 2021 he headed SocGen’s Americas branch, in charge of Global Banking and Investors solutions activities for the region.

Krupa has a deep knowledge of the investment banking activities of Socgen, spending some of his career outside of France, notably in New York.

Several unidentified sources said Krupa was the “big favourite” to lead the country’s third-biggest bank, the paper said.

“His candidacy has been preferred to that of Sebastien Proto … by the nomination committee,” it added, referring to another internal candidate cited as being well placed for the job in the run-up to the nomination.

Krupa had been seen as one of the frontrunners for the job after the surprise announcement in May of the departure of Frederic Oudea, who led the bank for more than a decade.

Oudea is one of the longest serving CEOs in European banking, while rivals have been through multiple changes of leadership.

Like its European competitors, however, SocGen has also struggled to restore profitability since the financial crisis. Its shares have more than halved since the 2008 crisis.

Oudea will move on to be non-executive chairman of French pharma giant Sanofi (NASDAQ:). He was in favour of finding an internal candidate.

Under Oudea’s leadership SocGen has streamlined operations to boost returns and financial solvency, notably by selling businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and refocusing its corporate and investment banking.

But it also grappled with difficulties. In 2018, it paid $1.3 billion in penalties for wrongdoing, including bribing Libyan officials.

Earlier this year, Socgen became the first major Western bank to announce its departure from Russia, writing off 3.1 billion euros ($3 billion).

($1 = 1.0261 euros)