Société Générale hit the acquisition trail on Tuesday with a €1.4bn ($2bn) war chest after launching a €4.8bn rights issue to repay state aid and to “seize potential external growth opportunities”.

In one of his first big strategic moves since becoming executive chairman in May, Frédéric Oudéa, executive chairman of France’s third-biggest bank, indicated he planned to tilt the group away from risky trading activities by making acquisitions in the safer realms of international retail and private banking.