SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE SURVEILLANCE COMMISSION

Press Release

June 19, 2001


The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) conducted an inspection of Socieété Générale Securities (North Pacific) Ltd., (Société Générale) based on provisions of the Law on Foreign Securities Firms (LFSF), and found a legal violation described below.

Today, the SESC sent a recommendation to the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of Financial Services Agency (FSA) to take a disciplinary action against Société Générale, pursuant to Article 20(1) of the FSA Establishment Law.

  • Solicitation with promise of special profit

1) From January to June 1998, with the involvement of a Vice Manager of its Tokyo Branch, Société Générale solicited several corporate customers with promises to avoid realizing a redemption loss of a note which the customers purchased before, by a scheme where the conditions of the note would be altered mainly in order to defer its redemption loss. In fact the value of the note just before redemption was almost nothing.

2) From March 1995 to June 1998, with the involvement of the General Manager of the Tokyo Branch, Société Générale solicited a customer (a securities investment advisor) with a promise to provide rebate towards orders from the customer under the pretext of advisory fee.

(Violation of a Ministerial Ordinance, Article 50(1)(vi) of the Securities and Exchange Law, and Article 17(1) of the LFSF prior to the amendment of 1998.)
Contact Person: S. Araki, International Section, SESC
Tel. 03-3581-7868

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