Société Générale has restructured its corporate and investment banking arm in an effort to strengthen the links between its business lines and distribution capabilities.

The reorganisation is intended to help the French bank adapt to the new regulatory and financial environment, according to a statement released by the bank on April 2.

Tightening capital requirements will mean that banks such as Société Générale will be under pressure to move more loans off their balance sheet rather than keep them on their books. In order to do so, Société Générale aims to ensure its financing business lines work more closely with its distribution arms.

Within the global finance division; the area in which trade, commodity and export finance sits, there have been a number of changes.

The global finance division will be headed up by Pierre Palmieri and his deputies Slawomir Krupa and David Coxon.

Within this division, a new financing business line has been created, which includes infrastructure and asset-based finance, export finance, transaction and debt advisory activities.

This financing line will be headed up by Matthew Vickerstaff. He will also retain his role as global head of infrastructure and asset-based finance, a position he has held since 2007. He is based in London.

Also sitting within global finance will be a newly reorganised energy and natural resources business line. This is co-headed up by Federico Turegano and Jonathan Whitehead.

Turegano was formerly the global head of natural resources financing; a position held since 2008.

This business line will incorporate energy, trade & commodity financing and metals and mining financing activities, but will also work closely with the commodities markets activities within the global markets division.

In addition to co-heading the energy and natural resources business line, Jonathan Whitehead will also continue to be head of commodities markets; a position he was appointed to in January this year.