The corporate and investment banking division of Société Générale performed strongly in the second quarter of 2002 despite volatile conditions in the debt markets and depressed equity markets.

The robust performance in corporate and investment banking as well as in asset management was overshadowed by €265m of provisions on the bank's industrial equity portfolio, including an exceptional lump sum provision of €150m. These provisions resulted in the group posting net income of €376m, a 41% fall compared with the same period last year.