Societe Generale says two senior executives to leave bank

PARIS (Reuters) -Societe Generale, which is seeking a new chief executive, said on Friday two senior female executives would be stepping down before the end of the year.

France’s third-biggest listed bank said Chief Risk Officer Sadia Ricke would leave on Nov. 30 and Caroline Guillaumin, the head of human resources and communication, would quit on Dec. 15.

Ricke, a SocGen veteran, will become group chief risk officer of Asia and Africa-focused bank Standard Chartered, the London-based bank said in a separate statement. She will join on Feb. 1, replacing Mark Smith, who retires at the end of this year.

Ricke joined Societe Generale in 1994 and held a series of senior positions within the corporate and investment banking division before being appointed as chief risk officer last year.

Guillaumin, who has been at SocGen since 2010, will pursue a new career outside the banking sector, SocGen said, adding the successors to the two executives would be announced at a later date.

In May, Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said he would step down next year after running the lender for 15 years.

A decision on a new chief executive is expected next month, with the head of the bank’s retail networks, Sebastien Proto, and investment banking chief Slawomir Krupa seen as the leading internal candidates.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Silvia Aloisi, editing by Kirsten Donovan)