Paris - AFP
French banking giant Societe Generale said Thursday its 2011 net profit slumped 39 percent after taking provisions of 890 million euros on its Greek exposure and a weaker investment bank performance. Net profit for the year came in at 2.38 billion euros ($3.70 billion), well below analyst estimates for 2.72 billion euros. Societe Generale which has announced a series of job cuts at its investment bank unit said it added 162 million euros to its Greek provisions in the fourth quarter and had now covered 75 percent of its exposure to the debt-stricken country.