French banking giant Société Générale has said its second-quarter net profit slumped 31% from a year earlier to €747m, largely because of its exposure to debt-stricken Greece.
The bank also downgraded its outlook, saying that its forecast for a 2012 net profit of €6 billion 'looks difficult to achieve'.
Chief Executive Frederic Oudea pointed to an 'uncertain economic and financial environment' in a statement, adding that the group had put in a resilient performance in the second quarter despite this backdrop.
SocGen's second-quarter profit was well below the €1.15 billion expected by analysts as the bank took a €395m hit on its exposure to Greece because of its contribution to a bail-out plan.
Loan loss provisions increased by 17.3% from a year ago to just under €1.2 billion and were 35% higher than in the first quarter.
SocGen has about €2.65 billion in Greek sovereign bonds, on which it will take a 21% loss.
Revenue also stumbled, falling 2.6% compared with the second quarter of 2010 to €6.5 billion, dragged down by a drop at its private banking division.
SocGen did have a more resilient performance in some businesses, however, including in investment banking where revenue was nearly up by 5%, while retail banking revenue also rose.
