Societe Generale defers €1.35 billion of trade profits

French dealer holds back far more than rival dealers

Societe Generale holds back a huge amount of profits on hard-to-value derivatives, Risk Quantum analysis shows. 

Banks typically book sales of structured products and complex derivatives at their transaction price. Any profits implied by the seller’s valuation of the trade are deferred and then slowly transferred to the income statement over time. The amount of ‘day-one’ deferred profit and the rate at which this is recognised on the income statement is determined by accounting methods unique