Societe Generale Fined $23M by French Regulator for Customer Disclosure Failures
French Regulator Penalizes Societe Generale for Disclosure Lapses
Background of the Fine
PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) - A French financial regulator said on Monday it imposed a 20 million euro ($23.31 million) fine on Societe Generale bank for failing to disclose crucial information to some of its retail customers.
Details of the Regulator's Findings
• The regulator found the bank did not disclose to its customers in 2018 it was automatically bundling an insurance contract with the opening of a new kind of bank account dubbed "Sobrio", the regulator, known as ACPR, said in a statement.
Obligations and Best Interest Duties
• The bank did not respect the obligation to disclose pre-contract information and its duty to act in the best interest of its clients as an insurance broker, it added.
Societe Generale's Response
• Societe Generale said it acknowledged the decision and took action as soon as certain issues were raised during the ACPR's 2024 investigation and reimbursed customers.
• SocGen said: "Our interpretation of the law applicable to combined banking and insurance product offerings differed from that of the authorities, and we are carefully examining the appropriate next steps in response to this decision, including the possibility of appealing to the Council of State."
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8581 euros)
(Reporting by Inti LandauroEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
