French bank Société Générale yesterday said that it was considering pulling out of Australia and was in discussions with regulators regarding its banking licence.

Australian branch chief executive officer John Harvey said no decision had yet been made but that a total exit was "clearly on the agenda", adding that the bank was in talks with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

The bank, one of the top French banks with strong international activities, has already transferred some staff to Hong Kong and moved its interest rates and foreign exchange business to the Chinese territory.

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