Société Générale announced on Thursday that it had signed agreements to sell its subsidiaries in Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and Chad.

The agreements provide for the total sale of Société Générale's shareholdings in these local African subsidiaries, the group said in a press release.

The Vista group will take over operations in Congo and Equatorial Guinea, while the Coris group will take over operations in Mauritania and Chad.

These disposals will have a positive impact of around five basis points on the bank's CET1 solvency ratio when they are finalized, expected by the end of the year.

Societe Generale intends to position itself in Africa in markets where it can rank among the leading banks.

In the same press release, the Group announced that it had initiated a strategic review of its 52.34% stake in Union Internationale de Banques (UIB), its subsidiary in Tunisia.

(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Kate Entringer)