The bank is reported to be considering both sell off and merger of its asset management business due to the fierce competition in the asset management industry.

SocGen has not revealed the bank’s plans regarding Lyxor yet. There are reports stating that the bank might even retain Lyxor, as final decisions haven’t been made.

SocGen, which is France’s third largest bank, is accelerating its asset disposal processes. A profit warning in January prompted the bank to prepare itself by cutting costs and selling assets. The bank is also considering to exit from UK private banking business and Nordiac equipment leasing operations.

SocGen’s Belgian banking unit was sold off in 2018 ABN Amro Group.

The current market value of the bank is $21.6 billion. The tough competitions in the asset management industry from large competitors such as BlackRock and Vanguard have made survival difficult for other smaller firms. The situation has prompted a series of consolidation in the industry to stay afloat.

Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Group AG had earlier planned on merging their asset management businesses. But the plan did not materialise as the companies could not decide on the mode of control of their new business.

The bank decided to reduce its expenses by a fifth, to prepare itself for the forecasted dull period. SocGen appointed Bain & Co. to assist it in cutting down expenses by focusing on services such as information technology, human resources and the finance department.

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