By Joe Wallace

Societe Generale, Europe's weakest major bank after the demise of Credit Suisse, is showing signs of revival.

Shares jumped almost 8% after the French lender reported a burst of profit and overhauled its executive team Thursday. SocGen said net profit rose to 1.37 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in the third quarter, up from from 295 million euros a year earlier, driven by higher interest income in France.

Until recently, SocGen has suffered from perennially weak profitability. Partly because of ill-fated hedges, it failed to cash in on higher interest rates, which delivered bumper earnings in to European peers. Investors hadn't shown much enthusiasm for a turnaround plan laid out by CEO Slawomir Krupa last year.

The bank said Thursday it had nabbed Leopoldo Alvear, chief financial officer at Spain's Banco de Sabadell, to become its finance chief, part of a broader management shakeup. Sabadell, which is fending off a hostile takeover from Spanish rival BBVA, itself reported higher profits than analysts expected, but shares slipped in Madrid.

BNP Paribas was the laggard on a busy day for European bank earnings. SocGen's competitor said revenue in its retail business fell in the third quarter. That was enough to send shares down more than 6% in Paris, even though BNP's large trading unit had a strong quarter.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 31, 2024 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)

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