Société Générale De Côte D'Ivoire (SG CI) Was Founded In 1962 Under The Name Bank De Côte D'Ivoire (SGBCI), With The Participation Of Both The National And Several International Financial Partners. In 2014, It Was Ranked 22nd Among West African Banks 2 (and First Bank Of Côte D'Ivoire)
History
Development
In 1941, Société Générale Group Opened Its First Branch In Côte D'Ivoire. On July 15, 1962, The Bank Purchased 3 Branches From The African Commercial Bank In The Country. On 23 November 1962, With The Support Of Several International Partners, A New Entity, Société Générale De Banques En Côte D'Ivoire, Was Established: Société Générale, Banca Nazionale De L Lavoro, Credit Suisse, Bayerische Vereinsbank And Bankers International Corporation
Since 1975 To 1999, When Tiémoko Yadé Coulibaly Was In Charge, SGBCI Has Been In Charge Of Laurent Gbagbo's Account. In 1989, SGBCI Clashed With Afrique Et Construction Financement (AFRICOF), A Lebanese Businessperson Owned By Zaher Nagib, And In March 1992 Was Ordered To Pay 2 Million CFA Francs To It, While The Bank Demanded Repayment Of The 8 Billion CFA Francs Loan. The Conflict Was Not Resolved And In 2001, After The Confiscation Of Its Equipment Following A Court Ruling, The Bank's Operations Were Stopped
April 7, 1976, SGBCI Listed (in BRVM) In 1979, The Bank Had 29 Branches In The Country.
In 2003, The Bank's Net Profit Was 4 Billion CFA Francs
In 2005, The Bank Abandoned Its Historic Logo And Integrated Itself Into Its Group's Identity By Adopting A Red And Black Logo.
In February 2011, When The Ivorian Banking System Was Going Through A Major Post-election Crisis, Prime Minister Ngbo A Few Months After Acre's Decision To Nationalize SGBCI Along With Other Banks, The Fall Of The Gbagbo Government Left The Decision Unheeded.
In 2013, The Bank Had To Face Massive And Spontaneous Wage Protests Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan's Services Were Mediating Between Corporate Management And Employees Demanding A 100% Increase In Wages. The Same Year, The Bank's Profits Plummeted, Losing 144% Compared To The Previous Year, Just 20 Million Euros. This Significant Decline Was The Result Of The Social Movements Experienced That Year, Which Led To An Increase In Wages And Therefore An Increase In Its Cost-to-income Ratio, As Well As A Halving Of The Group's Budget That Year That Was Supposed To Be Applied To The Ivorian Subsidiary. In October 2013, Frenchman Hubert De Saint Jean Was Appointed CEO, Charged With Reaffirming The Leadership Of Management. In Late 2018 And Early 2019, The Bank Changed Its Name From SGBCI To "Société Générale Côte D'Ivoire". In 1972, SGBCI Acquired An IBM 360-30, Enabling It To Manage Its Accounts In Real Time. In 1980, The Bank The Bank Deploys Its Computer Network To Its Entire Network To Interconnect Its Branches
In 1998, SGBCI Launched Vocalia Plus, A Voice Server That Allows Bank Users To Access General Information About Their Accounts, Check Balances And Order Bank Statements. In The Same Year, The Bank Formed A Partnership With Western Union, Offering Users The Possibility To Make International Bank Transfers From Its 43 Branches.
In 2000, SGBCI Became The First Bank In West Africa To Issue Visa Cards. It Modernized And Installed New ATMs In Côte D'Ivoire.
In 2006, The Bank Launched Messalia, A Service That Allows Users To Receive Information About Their Bank Accounts Via SMS., The Bank Also Launched Sogeline, A Remote Service For Managing Accounts Over The Internet.
In 2008, SGBCI Launched YERI, The First Relationship Center Between Customers And Banks In Côte D'Ivoire. It Provides Customers With A Service That Makes It Unnecessary For Them To Visit Branches For Information And Certain Operations.
Banking Products And Services
SGBCI Provides Banking Services To Individuals And Companies. It Offers Bank Accounts, Savings And Credit Products, And Payment Methods. But Although The Payment Card Number May Be Compromised, SGBCI Only Provides Internet Payment Services To Customers Who Agree To Be Responsible For Any Fraud Carried Out On The Internet Using The Card ("In The Event Of A Fraudulent Internet Transaction, The Bank Will Not Be Held Liable And The Cardholder Will Have To Bear The Financial Consequences Alone").
Visual Identity
The Logo Of SGBCI Is Now A Variation Of The Logo Of The Parent Company Société Générale. However, The First Logo Appears Before The Old Red "Pasquier" Logo In A Spiral Shape. Uniquely, It Will Last Until 2005. It Was Then Replaced By Prominent Stendali Red And Black Squares And An Extended Novarese Typeface Was Used To Mark The Agency's Acronym, But Only On The Black Side. In 2014, The Logo Was Modernized By Replacing The Typeface With A Thinner And Rounded Sans Serif Typeface.
Subsidiary Companies
- SogesPar: Unit Management Company Authorized To Be The Manager Of UCITS.
- SogeBourse: A Public Limited Company With A Board Of Directors, Approved As A Management And Intermediary Company (SGI) By The Regional Committee For Public Savings And Financial Marekt (CREPMF) On 15 December 1997
Direction
Composition Of The Executive Board In 2018:
- Aymeric VILLEBRUN: Managing Director
- Marc GIUGNI: Deputy CEO Of Corporate And Financial Marekt
- Olivier NAZARETH: Deputy CEO, Responsible For Branch Network, Finance Department, Governance And Social Life, Innovation
