SocGen's fourth-quarter results to be hit by tough market conditions

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale said its fourth-quarter results would be affected by tough market conditions and the impact of some asset sales, as lenders around the world grapple with financial market volatility.

"The challenging market environment in global capital markets is expected to result in a decline in global markets and investor services revenue of approximately 20 percent in Q4 2018 versus Q4 2017 and of approximately 10 percent in 2018 vs. 2017, as well as a significant increase in market risk weighted assets," SocGen said in a statement.

SocGen added it would book a one-off charge of 240 million euros ($273.31 million) as a result of some disposals carried out, such as the sale of SocGen Serbia and its stake in La Banque Postale Financement.

 

SocGen's warning comes in the same week when larger U.S. rival JP Morgan missed market estimates with its fourth-quarter results, as the lender pointed to choppy markets in December for bond trading losses.

Trading desks at Wall Street banks have been shaken by concerns over the global economy and a lingering trade dispute between the United States and China.

SocGen said its 2018 dividend would be stable compared with last year at 2.20 euros per share, and expected its core tier one-capital ratio to come in at between 11.4 percent and 11.6 percent.

($1 = 0.8781 euros)

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Inti Landauro and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)