SocGen stokes bitcoin bubble talk as bank eyes blockchain

Bloomberg

Societe Generale SA added to concerns about excessive bitcoin speculation, with the bank’s deputy head following Credit Suisse Group AG’s top executive in saying that it’s a bubble.
“Bitcoin today is in my view very clearly in a bubble,” Severin Cabannes said in a Bloomberg Television interview. His comments came a day after Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam said the speculation around bitcoin, which pushed it above $7,000 for the first time, is the “very definition of a bubble.”
The digital currency got new impetus this week after CME Group Inc., the world’s largest exchange owner, said it plans to introduce bitcoin futures by the end of the year, citing pent-up demand from clients. That pushes bitcoin closer to the mainstream by making it easier to trade without the hassles of owning bitcoin directly.
Bankers, meanwhile, are sounding warnings, even as they see promise in the currency’s underlying technology. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has called bitcoin “a fraud” that will eventually blow up. UBS Group AG Chairman Axel Weber has said that bitcoin has no “intrinsic value” because it’s not secured by underlying assets.
“We are not really very keen to invest in the bitcoin, but we are very keen to invest in the blockchain technology,” Cabannes said. Cabannes was speaking after the French bank posted a 15 percent decline in net income in the third quarter, missing analyst estimates.
Societe Generale SA fell the most in three months after plunging demand for the derivatives products the French bank pioneered turned its traditional strength into a weakness.
The 19 percent slump in revenue last quarter at the equities division, including prime services, missed the estimate of analysts — who predicted little change — and trailed a gain of about 6 percent recorded by arch-rival BNP Paribas SA. Debt-trading income also tumbled.
These trading revenue declines are “near worst in class,” Omar Fall, an analyst at Mediobanca SpA in London, said in a note to investors. “The elements of our negative thesis are all confirmed here: loss of share in Corporate and Investment Banking, litigation risk and under-performance in French retail.”
SocGen fell as much as 4.5 percent and was trading 3.1 percent lower by 10:30 a.m. in Paris trading. That puts the shares down about 1 percent this year, well behind the 9 percent
increase in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Banks and Financial Services Index.
It’s the worst performer among France’s four largest
publicly traded banks in 2017.
SocGen was “more impacted on the equities side” than some European rivals because the French bank relies on structured products that are “more sensitive to the very low volatility environment,” Deputy Chief Executive Officer Severin Cabannes said in a Bloomberg Television interview. He said he doesn’t expect an immediate return of volatility in the markets.
The lender also set aside an additional 300 million euros ($350 million) for potential litigation expenses as it entered talks with US authorities to resolve a bribery probe related to Libya and an investigation into alleged fake submissions of Libor rates. These matters could be resolved “in the coming weeks or months,” SocGen said.
With CEO Frederic Oudea weeks away from presenting new financial targets, the trading slump and prospect of costly
legal settlements may make
it harder to convince investors Societe Generale can boost
profitability.
SocGen’s total trading revenue, including fixed income, fell by about a quarter, more than the average decline of around 15 percent at the biggest Wall Street banks, but less than the slump booked by Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc. The company did highlight two bright spots: continued “dynamic” demand for structured fixed-income products and a pickup in trading toward the end of the quarter.
At the French consumer-banking unit, low interest rates contributed to a 5 percent drop in revenue. Overall, SocGen’s net income fell 15 percent to 932 million euros from the previous year, missing the 986 million-euro average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.