Societe Generale : SocGen shares climb after bank's strategy presentation

PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in French bank SocGen rose on Tuesday after SocGen said it would close more branches and cut staff in its French retail banking network while also selling assets, as part of a three-year plan to boost returns.

In a strategy presentation published late on Monday, SocGen unveiled a 1.1 billion euros (983.3 million pounds) savings plan that will cut 900 jobs in its French retail bank, close 300 branches and reduce the number of back office centres.

SocGen shares were up 0.7 percent in early session trading, outperforming a 0.4 percent gain on the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index.

"Targets are 2-4 percent ahead of the consensus; the plan is more conservative than expected with higher cost synergies and lower revenue growth, meaning management is less dependent on the cycle to reach its targets," said analysts at investment bank Jefferies, who kept a "buy" rating on SocGen shares.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Leigh Thomas)