Société Générale — Ethics Grade C

Société Générale receives an overall ethics grade of C (48/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Financial Services. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 65
• privacy: 70
• consumer: 55
• environment: 40
• humanRights: 50

Documented incidents (3)

• Libor Rate Manipulation (high, 2018) — The bank paid massive fines to US and French authorities to resolve charges of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and bribing officials in Libya to secure investments. This included payments to intermediaries linked to the Gaddafi regime.
• Laggard in Fossil Fuel Phase-out (medium, 2023) — Environmental groups have criticized the bank for its continued high volume of financing for fracking and offshore oil projects despite publicly committing to net-zero goals. It remained one of top European financiers for oil expansion through 2022.
• Rogue Trading Scandal (high, 2008) — A massive internal controls failure allowed trader Jerome Kerviel to take unauthorized market positions worth billions. The bank suffered catastrophic losses and were reprimanded by regulators for systemic oversight negligence.

Documented good deeds

• Green Bond Issuance Leadership — The bank has emerged as a top player in the issuance of green bonds to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects globally.

Ethical alternatives

• Triodos Bank — Exclusively finances sustainable and social enterprises with full transparency on every loan.