France\'s No. 2 listed bank Societe Generale and Europe\'s No. 2 insurer AXA are teaming up to offer funding to small-to-mid-sized companies against a backdrop of economic slowdown, with the first loans due later this year.
It is a fresh indication of how banks, under pressure to cut back lending to comply with \"Basel III\" regulations designed to crack down on risk, are looking at ways to shift the burden of lending away from their balance sheets towards other investors.
\"We have projects underway and we hope to get two or three deals out in the next six months,\" said Guy Silvestre, SocGen Midcaps Investment Banking co-head. \"We are helping clients diversify their funding sources even as we stay by their side.\"
SocGen and AXA are targeting French companies with revenue above 250 million euros (US$309.81 million) and gross debt above 150 million. The loans will be up to 100 million apiece, with AXA holding the majority share of each loan, said Silvestre.
It is a fresh indication of how banks, under pressure to cut back lending to comply with \"Basel III\" regulations designed to crack down on risk, are looking at ways to shift the burden of lending away from their balance sheets towards other investors.
\"We have projects underway and we hope to get two or three deals out in the next six months,\" said Guy Silvestre, SocGen Midcaps Investment Banking co-head. \"We are helping clients diversify their funding sources even as we stay by their side.\"
SocGen and AXA are targeting French companies with revenue above 250 million euros (US$309.81 million) and gross debt above 150 million. The loans will be up to 100 million apiece, with AXA holding the majority share of each loan, said Silvestre.