Employee savings: from Société Générale to Eiffage, discover the recipes of value sharing champions

Fifty-four thousand subscribers, 356 million euros invested: in 2026, Société Générale's global employee shareholding plan broke its participation record for the second year in a row. Employees already hold 10.2% of the capital, making them the bank's largest shareholder, and nearly eight out of ten in France own shares. “20% discount, employer contribution in all countries, mobilization of profit-sharing and participation schemes or possibility of subscribing with available employee savings”, lists Véronique Weber, head of employee shareholding.

After difficult years for the stock, the bank is playing frank: “We support each campaign with clear information on the risks, the investment horizon and the importance of diversification. » Management has already announced one operation per year over the period 2027-2029, subject to the green light from the general meeting. Employee savings: Dassault, Orange, Eiffage… discover the list of 24 champion companies in value sharing. At BNP Paribas, we chose the other path.

No more capital increases reserved for employees since 2012. “With the financial crisis, we said to ourselves that it was also our duty to ensure that employees can invest in more diversified and less risky supports in the event of a turnaround,” explains Agnès Girod, director of compensation and benefits. The bank prefers cash: 220 million euros of participation per year, 240 million of profit-sharing, 50 million of PPV (value sharing bonus) targeted at the lowest salaries, 70 million of matching contributions.

That is around 575 million euros, the equivalent of two months of payroll, and more than 10,000 euros per employee, when the average of the top 120 capitalizations on the Paris Stock Exchange (SBF 120) is around 6,000 euros. The incentive includes the reduction in CO2 emissions and the volunteer hours given by the teams to associations. Shareholding has not disappeared, however: 65% of French employees hold shares in the fund invested in BNP Paribas shares.

Construction companies, champions of value sharingAt FDJ United, management used shareholders to unite a growing group. In 2025, six years after the IPO and six months after the acquisition of Kindred and its 2,300 employees, the group opened its capital in twelve countries. Discount of 20% and contribution of 500 euros, guaranteed formula capped at 1,500 euros, capital gains rights for employees in Australia, Belgium and Sweden.

Machine-translated from French