In this article, Mathis HOUROU (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA)) shares his professional experience as an intern in Société Générale Private Banking, showing the role of analytical tools, performance monitoring and advisory support in a wealth management environment.
About the company
Société Générale is a major European banking group with operations in more than 60 countries. As of 31 December 2024, the Group employed approximately 119,000 people, served over 26 million clients in 62 countries, and reported total assets of EUR 1,573.5bn with total equity of EUR 79.6bn. In 2024, net banking income amounted to EUR 26.8bn, while group net income reached EUR 4.2bn.
Logo of Société Générale Private Banking.
Source: Société Generale.
Société Générale is one of the largest European banking groups, offering retail banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management services. The Group operates in multiple countries, from individuals to large companies, with diversified financial activities.
Within the Group, private banking represents a very strategic business dedicated to high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). It combines investment advisory, portfolio management, and long-term wealth structuring, relying mainly on a close relationship with the clients.
The role of this segment is crucial for the bank, as high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) create a lot of value. If the bank can’t offer them a service that is differentiating from normal clients, they will go to the competitor. The clients are either coming from the retail segment named SGRF when their account is reaching a certain amount (often around 500k€) or acquired directly from the competitor. In order to do so, Société Générale Private Banking (SGPB) is offering a panel of different investments, exclusive offers, special relationships, and many more.
My internship
During my internship, I worked within the “Maison de Gestion et Conseil” team at Société Générale Private Banking in Paris. My team was responsible for the entire segment of “Banque Privée” and “Gestion Privée” in France, acting as a support function for private bankers and management.
Over a period of 6 months, my role consisted in assisting the team with the day-to-day operation. Being able to help senior managers with precision, professionalism, and efficiency with almost no prior experience was really challenging.
My missions
My main task focused on the development and improvement of analytical and reporting tools, mainly via Excel and PowerPoint, used by private bankers and management teams. These missions aimed at facilitating the monitoring of portfolio performance and the interpretation of market trends.
More specifically, my responsibilities included the design of presentations and analytical materials to close every trimester. Those presentations were crucial for the bank, and I had to make them fast with no error margin. I repeated the operation for every manager with their own suggestions and special demands.
Concretely, I had to take the results from internal tools, bring them into multiple Excel files, rework the data, and make multiple indicators and graphs highlighting the results of each banker and compare them to one another. Then, I needed to repeat the operation for every manager and compute all the graphs in one presentation.
Required skills and knowledge
This internship required a solid understanding of the banking industry; analytical skills were necessary to interpret financial data and translate it into meaningful indicators. In addition, great use of Excel and presentation tools was essential to build clear and structured reporting materials.
Now for the soft skills, the role required rigor, adaptability and the ability to communicate effectively with professionals having different levels of technical expertise. For the most part they had a very deep knowledge of the business but were a bit less skilled in Excel and the different tools used for monitoring. The synergy was great since they made me learn about Private banking and management, and I helped them with the technical part.
What I learned
This internship provided valuable insights into how private banking operates on a daily basis. I learned how performance is monitored, how market and geopolitical information is used for decisions, and how analytical tools support client-oriented strategies.
Financial concepts related to my internship
I present below three financial concepts related to my internship: Assets Under Management (AUM), Portfolio Performance Measurement and Currency Risk, and Interest Rate Spreads and Bank Profitability.
Assets Under Management (AUM)
Assets Under Management (AUM) is a key indicator in private banking, it is the total value of client assets managed by a banker or a region for example. During my internship, AUM was very important in reporting tools, it helps me measure business size and prepare future budget and objectives. It is also useful for comparisons between regions of different sizes by adjusting performance indicators to the amount of assets managed, which was essential in the dashboards and presentations I worked on.
Portfolio Performance Measurement and Currency Risk
Another important concept is portfolio performance measurement, which is essential to monitor investment results and support advisory decisions. Through my reporting work, I learned that performance depends not only on asset returns but also on external factors such as currency risk. For example, in 2025, strong returns from US equities like the S&P 500 has been reduced for European investors because of to the depreciation of the US dollar against the euro. This shows the importance of integrating FX effects for performance analysis.
Interest Rate Spreads and Bank Profitability
Interest rate spreads are crucial for the bank profitability; it is the difference between borrowing and lending rates. Changes in monetary policy and market rates have a huge impact on the bank’s net interest revenue. In private banking, the interest rate environment influences client allocations, which is why these macro indicators were often included in the monitoring presentations I prepared.
Why should I be interested in this post?
For finance students, I would say that private banking offers a unique perspective on financial markets, portfolio management and client advisory.
This type of internship is particularly relevant for students interested in careers in asset management, wealth management, advisory roles, or bankers. It opens a lot of doors and allows you to meet the top of the managing chain in a competitive environment.
Related posts on the SimTrade blog
▶ All Professional Experiences
▶ Bryan BOISLEVE My internship experience as a Counterparty Risk Analyst at Société Générale
▶ Hélène VAGUET-AUBERT Private banking: evolving in a challenging environment
▶ Alberto BORGIA My Experience as a Wealth Management Intern at Nextam Partners – SimTrade blog
▶ Samia DARMELLAH My Experience as a Credit Risk Portfolio Analyst at Société Générale Private Banking
Useful resources
Société Générale Private Banking Découvrez la Banque Privée Société Générale
Société Générale Q4 2024 Financial Results restated quarterly series
About the author
The article was written in February 2026 by Mathis HOUROU (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA)).
▶ Discover all articles by Mathis HOUROU.