Dear Shareholder,

The recessionexperienced by theglobal economy isthe most brutal anddeepest since theSecond World War.

That said, and despite a still challengingeconomic environment in Q2 – contractionin investment, deterioration in the labourmarket – there appear to be some signsthat economic activity could stabiliseat end-2009.

Similarly, and although the outlook remainsuncertain, investors demonstrated less riskaversion during Q2 than during the previoustwo quarters, as testified by the rebound inequity markets.

In the current economic environment, theGroup’s Retail Banking activities provedhighly resilient in Q2 while Corporate and

Investment Banking posted an excellentperformance. Unfortunately,these performances are concealed bynegative valuation items of an accountingnature. Overall, Group revenues were up+2.4%; if non-recurring items are strippedout, the increase is 13.5%.

The changes in operating expensesreflects our determination to control allGroup expenditure, the restructuringmeasures implemented within SocieteGenerale, as well as a strategy ofcommercial expansion targeted on high-potential sectors.

After a sharp increase in the cost of riskin Q1 2009, which reflects the generaldeterioration in the economic environment,the Group’s Q2 cost of risk was lower atEUR -1.1 billion, reflecting the absenceof a deterioration in its portfolio vs. Q1.

The success of stock dividends, an optionreinstated this year and which has seena take-up rate of nearly 68%, testifies

by Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman and CEO

EDITORIAL

© Réa

continued on page 2

2 RESULTSSecond quarter 2009 results

4 FIGURES• Share performance • Annual General MeetingJuly 6, 2009

5 STRATEGYSG CIB: the Evolutionproject is preparing for the post-crisis period

6 ECONOMICENVIRONMENT Rebound in commodities:speculation or a leadingeconomic indicator?

8 INNOVATION AND CSRSG Private Banking Francesets up the “Fondation29 Haussmann”

CONTENTS

KEYFIGURES

2nd quarter 2009– Revaluation of financial liabilities: EUR -0.5bn– Deterioration in valuation of assets at risk:EUR -0.4bn

GROUP NET INCOME

EUR +309M

GROUP NET INCOME

EUR +31M

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STRENGTHTIER ONE RATIO (BASEL II):

9.5% o/w 7.3% for Core Tier One

REVENUES (EXCLUDING NON-RECURRING ITEMS)

+13.5% vs. Q2 08

NON-RECURRING ITEMS

EUR –1.7bn o/w– Effect of the Marked to Market of CDS: EUR -0.8bn

1st half 2009

LETTER TO SOCIETE GENERALE

SHAREHOLDERS#71 | AUGUST 2009

++ 33 (1) 42 14 52 16 from abroad0 800 850 820 from landlines in France (free phone)

www.societegenerale.com actionnaires.individuels@socgen.com Societe Generale DEVL/INVIndividual Shareholder Relations

75 886 Paris Cedex 18

Faced with a still challenging economicenvironment, the French Networks haveimplemented a proactive policy to encour-age the inflow of deposits and supporttheir business customers. This has resultedin strong activity levels as well as increasedrevenues and market share, thus demon-strating their solidity during a crisis period.

Balance sheet deposits for individual cus-tomers increased by + 1.5% (vs. Q2 08),driven by special savings schemes (LivretA passbook account, home ownershipsavings plan). Life insurance outstandingswere slightly higher (+0.5%): the proportioninvested in unit-linked policies (22% vs.18% in Q2 08) triggered a rebound againsta backdrop of less volatile stock marketsand declining interest rates. On the loanfront, the sluggishness of the propertymarket and households’ aversion to gettinginto debt in an environment of strong eco-nomic uncertainty and rapidly rising unem-ployment are adversely affecting activitylevels. However, the French Networks’continuing commitment to their customershelped maintain growth in outstandingloans to individuals of +3.7% vs. Q2 08.

Balance sheet deposits for business cus-tomers rose 19.9% year-on-year, boostedby the launch of new offerings adapted

2

RESULTS

EDITORIAL- continued -

to your support and confidence inSociete Generale’s strategy. It hastherefore helped strengthen ourshareholders’ equity.

The quality of Societe Generale’sportfolio of activities and its highsolvency level mean that the Groupis able to absorb the effects of thecrisis, while capitalising on thewithdrawal of some of itscompetitors in order to strengthenits customer franchises andselectively increase its marketshare. The Group is also resolutelypursuing its structural realignmentplans in order to prepare for thefuture banking environment. It istherefore providing itself with theresources to return to the path ofprofitable growth based on:- the expansion of its Retail Bankingcustomer franchises inside andoutside France through bothorganic and external growth,according to the opportunitiesthat arise,- the growth of its market share inCorporate and Investment Banking,- the rapid realignment of theactivities most affected by the crisis(Retail Banking in Russia, FinancialServices),- the conclusion of a strategicpartnership in Asset management,- and lastly, the ongoing search forand intensification of synergies(revenues and resources) within theGroup.

Rest assured that, just as SocieteGenerale has been resolutelypursuing its structural realignmentplans, so it will also be able to takeadvantage of the post-crisisopportunities that arise.

Thank you for your continued faith.

Second quarter 2009 res

Benefiting from a solidcapital position (Basel IITier One Ratio of 9.5%)and in order to prepare forthe future, Societe Generaleis focusing on consolidatingits market share, controllingrisks and restructuring theactivities most severelyaffected by the crisis.

to current market conditions. In the caseof loans, the French Networks’ commercialdrive has helped them post overall growthin outstanding loans of +3.7%.

Despite the economic slowdown,International Retail Banking generallyproved resilient due to the realignment ofits expansion policy: initiatives to encouragecustomer loyalty, priority given to boostingdeposit inflow, extended and innovativeproduct offering.At mid-2009, and vs. end-2008, the indi-vidual customer portfolio had grown by+83,000 customers and customerdeposits had increased by +1.1%*,whereas outstanding loans were down -2.3%*. At the same time, the Grouprealigned its operating infrastructure inthe first two quarters (slowdown in therate of network expansion, reductions inheadcount). Overall, and with the excep-tion of Russia where the crisis has hada heavy impact on Societe Generale’srevenues, the Group has posted satis-factory performances.

In a deteriorated environment, the declinein new business that affected all businesslines can be attributed to the drop indemand and the realignment of commercialpolicy to the new market conditions. InConsumer Credit, new business in Q2was down -11.4%* year-on-year, despitethe commercial dynamism in Brazil(+48.7%*) and the Czech Republic(+41.6%*). In Equipment Finance, thetrend is the same, with SG EquipmentFinance’s new financing in Q2 down -19.1%* year-on-year, reflecting the moreselective policy adopted since end-2008.In operational vehicle leasing and fleetmanagement, ALD had a fleet undermanagement of 778,100 vehicles at

FrenchNetworks

FinancialServices

InternationalRetail Banking

Frédéric Oudéa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

esults

end-June (up +2.6%* year-on-year,mainly driven by France and Germany).The business is continuing with itsrealignment measures against the back-drop of the ongoing severe deteriorationof the second-hand car market.

Global Investment

Management and Services

Asset ManagementThe outflow continued in AssetManagement in Q2 09 (EUR -3.1 billionnet), mainly in alternative investment activ-ities. Traditional investment activities werestable, reflecting arbitrage operations byclients switching from money market funds(EUR -3.7 billion) to bond funds (EUR +3.7billion), with equity inflow amounting toEUR +0.3 billion.

Private bankingIn a slightly more favourable environment,Private Banking experienced healthy businessvolumes: net inflow of EUR +1.3 billion inQ2 09, or more than double the amount inQ1 09, taking the assets managed by PrivateBanking to EUR 71 billion (+4.6% vs. end-March 09).

Societe Generale Securities Services(SGSS), Brokers (Newedge) andOnline Savings (Boursorama)Securities Services continues to beadversely affected by declining interest

rates. Assets under custody were up +6.3%year-on-year at EUR 2,906 billion, whereasassets under administration were down -14.5% at EUR 423 billion.Newedge’s business reflected the slow-down in the market, while demonstratingsome resilience. It has therefore succeededin maintaining its market share (11.8%),ranking it No. 2 based on deposits in theUnited States at the end of May 2009.Boursorama posted satisfactory perform-ances. The brokerage business continuedto benefit from strong market volatility, andbanking activity provided further evidenceof its vitality with the opening of nearly7,000 accounts in France in Q2.

Corporate andInvestissement Banking

The ongoing decline in interest rates, thetightening of credit spreads, as well as the

uptrend in equity markets helped Corporateand InvestmentBanking achieve a record operating per-formance. Activities(1) posted revenuesof EUR 2,984 million in Q2 09 (+57.5%vs. Q2 08), testifying to the robustnessof the customer franchise and its abilityto gain market share in a changing com-petitive environment. However, once againin Q2, the division recorded various non-recurring items on a significant scale(EUR -1.7 billion).

The Equities business line produced anexcellent performance in Q2 09, with Q2revenues(1) of EUR 1,001 million (+61.2%vs. Q1 09) close to its best performancesat the beginning of 2007. SG CIB con-firmed its leadership position in the equityderivatives market (global No. 1 in warrantswith a 14.4% market share) and in ETFs(22.1% market share, European No. 2).

Fixed Income, Currencies &Commodities maintained a high level ofrevenues (Q2 revenues(1) were almost dou-ble the figure in Q2 08) on the back ofgood commercial performances by flowproducts and fixed income and currencystructured products. In the commoditiesmarket, the bank has confirmed its statusas a leading player (global No. 3).

Financing & Advisory enjoyed a recordquarter(1). Financing activities postedexcellent performances overall (infra-structure and export financing), whilecapital markets activities capitalised onthe excellent activity levels in the bondissues market.

(1) Excluding non-recurring items

Corporate CentreThe Corporate Centre recorded grossoperating income of EUR -180 millionin Q2 09 (EUR +218 million in Q2 08).This decline can be attributed primarilyto a disposal capital gain recorded inQ2 08. �

www.societegenerale.com

NBI in EUR m 1,822 1,183 801 747 1,288 (+1.2%)(a) (+4.1%)* (-1.0%)* (-14.5%)* (+84.7%)*

Groupe Share 280 122 17 80 -12 of Net Income (-20.9%)(a) (-49.2%) (-89.6%) (-42.4%) NM in EUR m

ROE after tax 20.9% 15.7% 1.6% NM as a %

Net inflow -1.8 in EUR bn

French Networks

International

Retail Banking

Financial Services

Global Investment

Management & Services

Corporate &

Investment Banking

( ) Q2 09 vs. Q2 08(a) excluding PEL/CEL* on a like-for-like basis

InternationalRetail Banking generallyproved resilient, despitethe economic slowdown,due to the realignmentof its expansion policy.

“

3

4

FIGURES

AnnualGeneralMeeting of July 6, 2009The Annual General Meeting was heldon July 6 at La Défense. The quorumwas established at 56.99% vs. 53.53%during the previous Meeting. All theresolutions proposed by the Board ofDirectors were adopted.

The co-opting of Frédéric Oudéa to theBoard of Directors completes the mergerof the functions of Board Chairman andChief Executive Officer. Tighter and morereactive, the Group’s new governancestructure will be more capable of respond-ing to the challenges of the crisis.

Having been largely renewed, the Boardof Directors now consists of a majority ofindependent directors. The task of man-agement control is strengthened by theappointment of a vice-chairman respon-sible for internal control, Anthony Wyand.There was extensive commentary on hisduties during the meeting. He will ensure

Société GénéraleCAC 40

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Societe Generaleshare performance

www.societegenerale.com

CALENDARNovember 4, 2009Publication of 3rd quarter 2009results

November 20-21, 2009 ACTIONARIA trade fair

February 18, 2010 Publication of 4th quarter and fullyear 2009 results

+13.5%increase in Group NBIexcluding non-recurringitems year-on-year

9.5%Basel II Tier One Ratio

KEY FIGURES FOR THESECOND QUARTER OF 2009

© Philippe Zam

ora

the smooth functioning of the Board andits various committees, while assistingFrédéric Oudéa on strategic issues.

The Annual General Meetingof July 6 in figures •Shareholders present: 232•Shareholders represented: 765•Postal voters: 7 636 •Powers given to the Chairman: 13,094•Quorum: 56.99%, or 326,838,652shares present or represented.

Societe Generale share price at July 31, 2009: EUR 45.05

STRATEGY

5

ne year ago, the collapse ofLehman Brothers preceded afinancial crisis that has since rocked

the Corporate and Investment Bankingworld to its core. The contraction in busi-ness volumes has been coupled with thedisappearance of many market players.However, the Group’s financial strength,the quality of its products, and the confi-dence of its customers have enabled SGCIB to withstand the crisis better thanmost other banks.

As an integral part of Societe GeneraleGroup’s universal banking model alongsideRetail Banking and Global InvestmentManagement and Services Divisions, SGCIB’s strategy is not in question, but itmust adjust to a new environment in which“profitability becomes a challenge,” accord-ing to Michel Péretié. This is the inspirationbehind Evolution, a project launched lastJuly. Its main objective is to develop cus-tomer focus, while optimising operationalefficiency and the risk profile in order toincrease revenues and market share.

In short, to protect what it has today whilepreparing for after the crisis.

New organisation…To do this, SG CIB is organised aroundthree areas of expertise in which the bankwants to strengthen its position in order tobetter serve its customers: investment bank-ing, global finance and global markets.

The Coverage and Investment Bankingdivision is responsible for managing anddeveloping the overall relationship withstrategic clients by offering them the fullrange of SG CIB and Group services,along with services like strategic advisingon mergers/acquisitions and solutions forraising capital. The second division,

Primary Markets, Financing, and Hedging,which is dedicated to issuer clients, offersintegrated solutions for leveraging capitalon the debt and equity markets, structuredfinancing, and hedging. Finally, the Marketsdivision is a true cross-asset and integratedplatform dedicated to investors. It bringstogether various solutions for investments(Fixed Income & Currencies, Equities,Commodities and Alternative Investmentsetc.) and risk management, as well as across-asset research offering.

…and New GovernanceAt the same time, SG CIB continues tooperate according to the governanceimplemented on March 31 with a coreand extended executive committee struc-ture. In addition, in order to supervise themanagement of scarce resources (capital,liquidity, balance sheet, etc.) and to suc-cessfully complete the project of redesign-ing its operating model, we are currentlyfinalising a Chief Operating Officer (COO)position. This new global structure has aregional component. SG CIB is increasingthe role that its regional and country man-agers, who are closest to the action, playin all of its activities.

Project Evolution represents a key step inSG CIB’s adjustment to the new economicand financial environment. It is part of SocieteGenerale’s overall strategy to rank amongthe top names in Corporate and InvestmentBanking over the long term. �

O

TWO QUESTIONS FOR…

Christophe Mianné,Head of Market Activities

Why combine fixedincome, foreignexchange, andcommoditiesactivities withSG CIB’s equityactivities?

On their own, both activities held leadingpositions. Grouping them together in asingle global market division allows us totake a cross-asset approach while ensuringoptimal use of our resources (capital,balance sheet, liquidity, etc.). The newentity also enables us to reallocateresources toward areas with strong

growth-potential, such as foreign exchangeand commodities.

What benefits will it have for customers?We are strongly committed to being partnersto our customers. In increasinglyinterconnected markets, customers want tosecure their investments, so we have set upoptimal solutions for risk management withtop-rate execution. We provide advisoryservices, cross-asset solutions, and a globalvision thanks to our integrated research. Theywill also benefit from our cross-asset riskmanagement and overall trading supervisoryservices.

© Michel Labelle

© DR

Michel Péretié.

www.sgcib.com

SG CIB: the Evolutionproject is preparing forthe post-crisis period

“Resist, conquer, and protect”. This is the mottofor Michel Péretié, CEO of Societe Generale’sCorporate and Investment Banking Division(SG CIB), a motto that Project Evolution isputting into practice. Practice in SG CIB.

6

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

After plummeting by nearly 65% in the second half of 2008, commodityprices first stabilised in Q1 09 beforerebounding spectacularly in Q2.

Frédéric Lasserre,Global Headof CommoditiesResearchwithin SG CIB.

© DR

he average performance for com-modities is around 30% since thebeginning of the year.

This rebound is particularly remarkablesince it has occurred in an environmentstill dominated by a contraction in theglobal economy, without any concretesign of a recovery in physical demandfor commodities. In fact, it is not the con-sumers of commodities that have causedthe rebound in prices but investors. Giventhe nature and scale of the financial andeconomic crisis, investors have indicatedtheir strong risk aversion by overweightingtheir portfolios of investments in so-called“risk-free” assets, i.e. cash and govern-ment bonds.They kept this asset allocation until theywere convinced that the worst was overand that the global economy was goingto start to recover. Consequently, theyhave adjusted their portfolios by reweight-ing allocations in assets with a risk pre-mium, i.e. equities, corporate debt,emerging markets and commodities. Inlight of this situation, the rebound incommodities is no different in naturefrom the rebound observed simultane-ously in these markets in Q2. However,there are four reasons that could haveprompted investors to return more specif-ically to the commodities asset class.

The first signs of an impendingeconomic recoveryThese signs emerged during Q2 withwhat has been called the “green shoots”of recovery. These are no more or less

than leading economic indicators (inparticular, surveys conducted amongconsumers, purchasing managers orheads of companies) which have grad-ually started to reverse, initially in theUnited States and subsequently in Chinaand Europe. Already in Q2, when theystill considered the current situation tobe very gloomy, their anticipations forthe following months gradually becameincreasingly positive: economic playerswere taking on board “V-shaped” recov-ery scenarios.However, commodities are also con-sidered to be leading economic indica-tors simply because they are the firstsegment in the industrial logistics chain.In logical terms, when industrial com-panies anticipate an improvement in

THE SCALE OF CHINESE IMPORTS

As early as February, statistics for Chineseimports of commodities surprised by thescale of their increase both month-on-month and year-on-year. Importationsof industrial metals, crude oil and grainssaw double-digit and even triple-digitincreases even though industrialproduction and Chinese exports remainedsluggish. These statistics largely helpedconvince investors that, as expected,China would be the first to emergefrom recession and would experiencethe strongest economic recovery.

G f a

The relationship between the dollarand commodities has become atraditional arbitrage method forsome investors, particularly hedgefunds. Some use commoditiesto hedge against an expecteddepreciation in the US currencywhile others use the dollar as analmost instantaneous indicatorof the trend in commodities.However, given the explosion indeficits and the US public debt,most investors expect the dollarto enter a downtrend. This issuewas evoked by China when itquestioned out loud the real valueof the US public debt(China is currently the leadingforeign holder of US public debt).

Arbitragebetween theUS dollar andcommodities

T

Rebound in commodities:speculation or a leadingeconomic indicator?

“Commoditiesare also consideredto be leading economicindicators simplybecause they are the firstsegment in the industriallogistics chain.

their activity over the next few months,they rebuild their stocks of commoditieseven before industrial production recovers.This time, investors have themselvesanticipated that industrial companies arelikely to rebuild these stocks over thenext few months.

Commodities as a protectionagainst inflationary risksThe scale of the public deficits relatedto economic stimulus plans promptsquestions regarding the sustainability ofdebt servicing. In addition to traditionalmeasures, i.e. tax increases and public

spending cuts which everybody knowsare difficult to implement, some econo-mists have raised the possibility of lettinginflation increase at a stronger rate inorder to erode the real value of the stockof debts. Even if inflation does not decideto do so, given the impressive quantityof liquidity injected by the central bankssince the beginning of the recession, itwould probably be sufficient to keep keyrates at their lowest when the economyreturns to positive growth for inflationarytensions to appear. This scenario wouldsignify for institutional investors, partic-ularly pension funds and sovereign funds,

that the central banks would no longerprotect them against inflation. They would therefore have to coverthemselves by resorting to market instru-ments (inflation swaps and indexedbonds) and according to economic the-ory, by constituting positions in realassets, primarily property and commodi-ties. Although it is fairly surprising to seethis debate on inflation emerge so earlyin the economic cycle when the short-term risk remains resolutely deflationary,some pension funds have recentlyincreased their allocation in the com-modities asset class directly on the backof this inflation theme.In conclusion, the rebound in commodi-ties in Q2 can be explained primarily byanticipations of economic recovery and,therefore, this rebound can be consid-ered as a leading indicator of this recov-ery. However, it is actually investors,and not the physical consumers of com-modities, that have fuelled this reboundin prices. This logic simply testifies tothe fact that, since 2005, investors haveplayed an increasingly important role inthe process of commodity price forma-tion, not by integrating a purely spec-ulative component but rather byintegrating an anticipatory componentin spot prices. �

TS

Given China’s weighting in the demandfor all commodities, some investorsare looking for exposure to both China

and commodities per se by takinglong positions in oil, metalsor agricultural products.Even if the bulk of these importedcommodities has ended up in thegovernment’s strategic stocksor in trading company warehouses,the recent publication of ChineseQ2 GDP has confirmed that theseinvestors were not mistaken sincethe figure is much higher thanexpected 3 months ago, wheninvestors returned to commodities.

©Arno Lam

© Getty Im

ages / Shutterstock

7

www.societegenerale.com

INNOVATION AND CSR

SG Private Banking France is involved inphilanthropic initiatives, with the setting up ofthe “Fondation 29 Haussmann” in March 2009.

he SGAM Foundation for thera-peutic innovation is one of thelinks in Societe Generale Asset

Management’s strategy to effectivelycontribute to the financing of young

companies innovating in the healthcaresector, principally in the cardiovascularfield. The foundation has recentlyawarded four prizes to help supportmajor therapeutic innovations nearinghuman clinical trials: a treatment for theprevention of thrombosis, two new treat-ments for cardiac insufficiency, and aprocess to identify the genes involved inthe response to some treatments.

At the same time, Societe Generale iscontinuing with its efforts in terms ofproduct innovation and has receivednumerous awards since the beginningof 2009.

SG Private Banking France sets up the “Fondation 29 Haussmann”

different sections of the public, byfinancing them with private donations;

• Monitoring the initiatives carried out bysubsidised associations and reporting theresults obtained for each sponsored projectto clients, to enable them to becomeinvolved in the Fondation 29 Haussmann.

Helping children and adolescents that havebroken off relations with their family and withproblems at school:

Playing a role in civil society and assistingits clients in their philanthropic initiativeswhile helping them to optimise their taxsituation.

Innovative solidarity initiatives.

• Supporting innovative and appropriatesolidarity projects within identifiedphilanthropic sectors and intended for

SG Private Banking has been voted BestGlobal Private Bank by Euromoney, for itsstructured products offering, which reflectsits international expertise and the innovativeaspect of its products. Societe Generale Asset Managementreceived the Gold Trophy for the best SICAVmutual funds and Funds in 2009 awardedby Le Revenu magazine for the quality andvariety of its sector-based equity funds.SG Hambros was rewarded by readersof the Financial Times and InvestorsChronicle for its new alternative investmentproducts. �

Despite the crisis,Societe Generale continuesto promote innovation

The SGAM Foundation for therapeuticinnovation provides support for majoradvances in terms of treatment.

T© Getty Im

ages

© Shutterstock

MISSION

OBJECTIVES

FOCUS & PROJECTS FOR 2009

AREA OF INTERVENTION

www.societegenerale.com

www.sgprivatebanking.com

• Sponsoring young people fromdisadvantaged backgrounds in terms ofhigher education diplomas and who haverecently started their working life, in orderto guide them in their career plans;

• Financing school projects for blind orvisually impaired children enabling them toremain in a “traditional” schoolenvironment;

• Supporting low-income households so asto encourage family bonding throughshared leisure activities.

Head of Publications: Hugues Le Bret. Societe Generale, a French corporation (société anonyme) with share capital of EUR 799,478,491.25. Registered offices: 29 bd Haussmann, Paris, France |Company registration number: 552 120 222 00013Data Protection Act (French law No. 78-17): you can consult or amend our files or remove your detailsby contacting the Individual Shareholder Relations Department.

Design and production: Incidences | Legal filing: August 2009 | ISSN 1258-8881

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