Société Générale to exit Burkina Faso and Mozambique

Societe Generale announced this through a press release dated December 7, 2023.

It read, “Societe Generale has signed two agreements with Vista Group which plan the total divestment of Societe Generale group’s shares in its local African subsidiaries: Société Générale Burkina Faso and Banco Société Générale Moçambique, currently owned at 52.6% and 65% respectively.”

Based on the agreement, Vista will acquire Societe Generale's 52.6% stake in Societe Generale Burkina Faso and its 65% stake in Banco Societe Generale Mozambique.

“According to the commitments made, the Vista Group would take over all activities operated by these subsidiaries, as well as all Societe Generale's client portfolios and all employees within these entities,” the statement added.

The statement however did not state the financial details of the transactions but said the completion of the transactions could take place in 2024 and is subject to the approval of the entities’ governance bodies.

Societe Generale, ranking as France's third-largest listed bank with a global presence in general banking and foreign exchange operations signed the agreement with Vista Group, a renowned global leader providing innovative software and technology solutions to the film industry.

Société Générale earlier this year announced its exit from four other African businesses in Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, and Chad. Once the Paris-based lender exits these six countries, it will remain present in 10 African countries only.

Exiting these African markets was the first move made by CEO Slawomir Krupa to “refine the institution’s capital use”.

"Our agreement... confirms our expansion strategy, which aims to make Vista Bank a pan-African group present in 25 countries," Simon Tiemtore, president of Guinea-headquartered Vista said, who was quoted by international media Reuters.