SocGen in record loss, may take new writedowns

(Reuters) - Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) confirmed a record fourth-quarter loss of 3.35 billion euros ($4.93 billion) after absorbing a huge rogue trading scandal that has made France's second-biggest listed bank a potential takeover target.

The loss coincided with an internal report acknowledging that better systems might have prevented the costly stock market gambles it blames on junior trader Jerome Kerviel.

SocGen, like many of the world's top banks, has also been hit by losses related to a global credit crunch and the bank warned it may make further writedowns in the future.

Executive Chairman Daniel Bouton told Reuters the 144-year-old firm was determined to ride out the storm as an independent bank, despite reports of a potential bid from long-time suitor and arch-rival BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research).

"I am completely determined to continue with our strategy because, even taking into account our very bad year in 2007 due to the financial crisis and this fraud, it's this strategy which creates and will create the most value for shareholders," Bouton said in an interview. "This is my opinion, and it's one that's backed by the board."

SocGen's fourth-quarter net loss compared with a 1.18 billion euro profit a year earlier and a fourth-quarter profit of 1.0 billion euros unveiled by rival BNP Paribas, although BNP Paribas' results were down from the year before.

SocGen cut its 2007 dividend to 0.90 euro from 5.20 euros.

 

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Reed to buy ChoicePoint, sell info division

(Reuters) - Reed Elsevier announced the acquisition of U.S. risk-management business ChoicePoint Inc for $4.1 billion including debt alongside its results, as well as a renewed cost-savings drive and the planned sale of an advertising-dependent information business.

Shares in Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed, which have outperformed the DJ Stoxx European media sector by 5 percent over the past year, jumped 6 percent to 619 pence on the news on Thursday.

The $4.1 billion for ChoicePoint comprises $3.5 billion in cash for the equity, at $50 per share, and 600 million pounds in debt. CheckPoint shares closed at $33.66 on Wednesday.

Reed said that combining ChoicePoint with its LexisNexis risk-information and its Analytics group would create a risk-management business with $1.5 billion in revenue and a leading position in a fast-growing market.

The London-based company said buying ChoicePoint had the unanimous backing of the U.S. company's board and now required shareholder and regulatory approval. ChoicePoint is based in Alpharetta, Ga. and employs around 5,500 people.

Reed also announced that it would divest its Reed Business Information (RBI) arm to reduce its exposure to cyclical advertising markets. The Reed exhibitions business will be kept.

Advertising accounts for around 60 percent of revenues at RBI, which itself generates around 20 percent of Reed's 4.6 billion pound group revenues.

 

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UBS to Shorten Ospel Term to One Year at Re-election

(Bloomberg) -- UBS AG said it would reduce Chairman Marcel Ospel's next term of office to one year from three after Europe's largest bank by assets reported a record loss.

Ospel, 58, was a force behind the merger of Swiss Bank Corp. and Union Bank of Switzerland that created UBS in 1998 and has been chairman for seven years. UBS posted a 12.5 billion-franc ($11.4 billion) fourth-quarter loss after an expansion into debt trading led to writedowns when the U.S. housing market slumped.

``Shareholders have a lack of confidence and that is linked to Ospel's name,'' said Vinzenz Mathys, an analyst at the Ethos Foundation, an investor in UBS calling for a special audit of the bank's risk controls. ``We are disappointed because UBS could have proposed new candidates.''

Shareholders will vote on re-electing Ospel and two other board members to shortened terms at the annual general meeting on April 23, Zurich-based UBS said in an e-mailed statement today. Sergio Marchionne, Fiat SpA's chief executive officer, was named a non-executive vice chairman.

UBS's losses already led to the departures of former CEO Peter Wuffli, 50, his finance chief Clive Standish, 54, and Huw Jenkins, 50, who ran the investment bank.

``It will take at least a year, if not longer, to clean up things at UBS and Ospel being around means there will be no clean cut with mistakes of the past,'' said Ralf Rybarczyk, who manages 1.5 billion francs at DWS Investment GmbH, including UBS shares.

`Current Challenges'

Peter Voser, finance director at Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and Larry Weinbach, the former chairman of Unisys Corp., will also stand for re-election to one-year board terms at the annual meeting, UBS said. Voser, 49, will take over from Weinbach, 68, as chairman of the audit committee. In subsequent elections, all board members will be elected for one year, the company said.

Marchionne, 55, was named non-executive vice chairman to replace Marco Suter, 49, who was an executive vice chairman before taking on the role of chief financial officer in October. Italian newspaper MF reported on Feb. 15 that Marchionne was a possible replacement for Ospel, which the Fiat executive denied. He said in a statement today his new role is ``absolutely compatible'' with running Fiat.

``With these moves we have strengthened the leadership structure in order to manage UBS's current challenges,'' Ospel said in the statement. ``I proposed the new tenure rule to the board, and am prepared, pursuant to their request, to stand for re-election for one year.''

UBS rose 48 centimes, or 1.3 percent, to 36.80 francs by 2:08 p.m. in Swiss trading. The stock has fallen 30 percent this year, the fourth-worst performance on the 60-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.

 

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Microsoft to Change Technology Practices in Bid to Appease EU

 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, announced a series of changes in its technology and in how much information it gives developers about its products, in a bid to satisfy European regulators.

 

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