France’s emperor Napoleon III signed Société Générale into existence in 1864, and it has been a major presence in the country’s economy ever since. Now a multinational bank and financial services company, the group has 25 million clients and 126,000 employees across 65 countries. France is still its major retail banking market, through its SG and BoursoBank brands, with smaller subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Romania and 14 African countries. SocGen is also a global investment and corporate bank, and has a large car leasing business, ALD Automotive, with a fleet of over 1.7 million vehicles. It is headquartered in Paris.
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