Societe Generale

Employee - Associate

Would recomment to others only if you can be part of the gravy train team, aka revenue team and not cost team.

Employee - Associate

Very cost conscious operation. Everyone operate in fear mode, afraid to do any that will upset the COO.

Employee - Group Managing Director and/or Partner

Culture is too political.

Employee - Senior Vice President

Poor management hinders performance at the company

Employee - Vice President

I am completely bilingual, dreaming in French and listening to rap like it's nothing. I've lived in the Basque Country and Paris, later covering French-speaking hedge funds, family offices and pensions in Switzerland and Paris as a junk trader. You would think that I would love SocGen; however, the same societal problems that infect French socialism disproportionately affect the mindset of management, where complacency, self-entitlement, and risk-aversion hobble the bank's ability to supervise an American broker/dealer. I made myself a pariah by reporting compliance and suitability violations committed by a big producer, nixing the longevity of my engagement, rather than being thanked for the keen eye. SocGen's problems are organic to its native culture.

Employee - Vice President

I found myself surrounded by French bureaucrats, who assumed from my short/thick/wide stature that I was just another neanderthalic American cretin; however, my stealth French revealed the nervous, insecure, under-qualified, desperate, excuse-ridden secrets underlying current that management hides effectively, in its ready-fire-aim approach to chasing liquidity. A good 1/3 of French senior management lives on $200k+ base salaries, eats lunch and feigns participation in transactions and know it very well. They want everyone else's returns with no risk, trying almost Boris-and-Natasha methods for eeking $ out of the bond market. No one method offended, so much as the unmistakable theme. Speaking French revealed insidious details that led me to this conclusion.

Employee - Managing Director

There are a few management that have been in place for a while and only want to protect their kingdom.

Employee - Vice President

If you're not French, you'll always be an outsider at this company. Even if you speak French fluently as in my case.

Employee - Managing Director

Local Management is heavily concentrated with French expats which do not understand the American culture, decision making (non consensus) or desire to be number 1 in a given product area.

Employee - Managing Director

Highly educated work force that respects intellectual accomplishments. Commitment to social responsibility.