Thanks but no thanks

Société Générale sent markets and the French government a message on Monday – that it wouldn’t need fresh capital in the immediate term, at least not in the form of state money. The French bank remained profitable in the third quarter, as it has throughout the financial crisis. It also managed to raise its core Tier 1 capital ratio to 6.8% - about one percentage point higher than that of BNP Paribas, SocGen’s larger, but arguably less risky, rival. For the sake of clarity, SocGen wisely refrain...