Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord, France’s third-biggest listed lender, agreed to merge their retail banking operations. Financial terms are not disclosed. The Boards of Directors of Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord have approved the merger of the Societe Generale and Crédit du Nord brands in order to combine the strength of human expertise and of digital technology to bolster customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and commercial ambition. The transaction will help to achieve a net cost base reduction of more than €350m ($424m) in 2024 and about €450m ($546m) in 2025 compared with 2019, with project costs estimated at between €700-800m ($849-970m) (of which approximately 70% in 2021).