A BRILLIANT EURO BEGINNING

Right from the beginning of the euro, Société Générale embraced the new European payment systems to make cross-border payments. Recognizing the benefits of a major currency which is accepted in 15 countries, most of our clients adopted the new European single currency right from the start. Furthermore, they took advantage of a centralized account at Société Générale to simplify their commercial and treasury transactions. This trust in Société Générale as a major euro clearer explains our position as one of the top euro clearers.

Société Générale's STRENGTHS

As a top clearing bank with one of the most extensive branch networks in Europe, Société Générale has the expertise to meet your bank's clearing needs with efficiency, speed and care. More than 1,000 financial institutions worldwide rely on Société Générale to carry out a broad range of international transactions.

In addition to our pan European presence, Société Générale is a proven leader on the major euro clearing systems. In fact, out of over 73 Euro 1 EBA members, Société Générale consistently ranks as a top clearer in this system. Société Générale also provides its client banks with an access to the European RTGS TARGET 2.

Société Générale was among the first dozen of banks of the European Union to connect to the new European ACH, EBA/Step2. Société Générale can act as a Direct Participant for other banks, saving them the costs of developing an access to this system. Société Générale is also the leading entrypoint for payments in favour of other big and little French banks.

The appreciation of Société Générale's euro clearing services by our clients is the outcome of several key success factors that distinguish Société Générale from other competitors :

• Quality processing : Our systems are designed to ensure a high rate of automatic processing for incoming and outgoing messages. Also, our systems are able to select the most suitable payment channel given the characteristics of the message.
• Advanced reporting techniques : Société Générale takes advantage of the latest banking technology to provide quality and complete reporting to its clients. Our goal is to give our clients as much information as possible so that they may closely follow their payments and their positions. Therefore, we are able to provide our clients with :
• Real-time reporting via the Internet (WebClear) - Inquiry status and information via the Internet (ITsClear) - Real-time reporting via SWIFT
• Personalized customer service : Société Générale will provide your institution with a multi-lingual account officer who will be dedicated to your account. You may choose to have your account serviced in Paris, New York, Frankfurt, Tokyo or Mumbai. Since this person will be familiar with the day-to-day operations of your account, your inquiries can be resolved more efficiently. Also, your account officer monitors your account and will alert you in the case of any abnormal transactions or balances.
• Specialized Products : In addition to our classic clearing services, Société Générale offers a wide range of European payment solutions. Such products include :

• International Sogexpress : Cash letter service for cheques payable in Europe and North America
• Sogexpress : Cash letter service for cheques payable in France
• Sogecollect LCR : Collection of bills of exchange
• WorldPay : International mass payments services
• SurePay : guaranteed commissions for payments in the European Union
• PayAway : Société Générale as entry point to Africa and Eastern Europe

Optimized Cash Management : Thanks to our technical capabilities in the management of your cash and to the French legislation, we are able to pay you interest on your positive balances by notional cash pooling between your legacy currency/euro accounts and/or among your branches (In the case of inter-group cash pooling, a cash management agreement is required). Société Générale applies EONIA for interest calculation. For a more elaborate management of your treasury, our Capital Management team will be able to provide you with a line of investment products tailored to your needs.

SEPA

SEPA is the acronym of Single Euro Payments Area i.e. unique area of payments in euro. To allow you to understand better this project and to consult our SEPA brochure, please click here

TARGET 2

TARGET is the acronym of Trans European Automated Real Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer, i.e. System of automated transeuropean gross settlement express transfer in real-time. The settlement system of the transactions of big amounts, Target 1, was set up at the beginning of 1999 with the introduction of the euro. The new generation Target 2 will come into force at the end of 2007 and over 2008. To consult our TARGET2 brochure, please click here