Equity and advisory work came within a whisker of matching corporate banking and fixed income as the main driver of investment banking profits at Société Générale, which last year surged more than a quarter to a record €2.3bn ($3bn).

Net profits at SG Corporate & Investment Banking climbed 27% from €1.8bn in 2005, driven primarily by what the bank described today as an "excellent" performance on the equity and merger and acquisition advisory front, where client-related business and strong trading pushed profits up more than half to a record €1.1bn.