Mar 17, 2009 00:29
15 yrs ago
11 viewers *
French term

Société Anonyme à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital

French to English Bus/Financial Finance (general) Type of bank
In a bank document, the bank defines itself as above. Context:

"Nous soussignés, XXX Banque, Société Anonyme à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital" [details on capital and address] attestons que..."

Any idea what type of bank it is? How to render "Société Anonyme à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital"into English? Thanks

Proposed translations

+6
1 hr
Selected

société anonyme (limited company) with executive and supervisory boards and share capital of XXX

-- *Keep* the company form in French. Gloss it in parentheses only if you think it necessary. Avoid equating it with corporate forms under other national laws, e.g. UK public limited company. Wouldn't hurt to identify the country of incorporation somewhere in the document, but that needn't be in the title.

This describes a standard SA with a two-tier board structure, as opposed to one with a single board of directors. It says nothing about what business the company is in.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-03-17 04:10:07 GMT)
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"management board" is synonymous with, and *almost* as popular as, "executive board" for directoire.
Note from asker:
Thank you rkillings. You and Joe have given me an excellent idea of what a S.A.D.C.S. I am smarter as a result
Peer comment(s):

agree joehlindsay : Yes, leave it in French. The asker already said it is a bank, and this form is preferred for investment banks.
3 mins
agree Yolanda Broad : Agree that it should be left in French
1 hr
agree narasimha (X) : I agree with you that it should be left in French as it is
1 hr
agree Rob Grayson
5 hrs
agree Alain P.
7 hrs
agree Karen Stokes
8 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
49 mins

investment bank

This is the formal, legal term for an investment bank. Investment banks take companies public, do new equity issues, (UK-capital increase), and otherwise finance, sometimes asset manage, for companies.

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-03-17 01:39:24 GMT)
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Il existe deux types de SA :
de type classique avec un conseil d'administration,
avec un directoire et un conseil de surveillance.
(Suite à la mise en place de la Loi de Sécurité Financière, cet organe délibératoire se doit de constituer un comité d'audit).
Le second type, inspiré du modèle allemand, sépare clairement les fonctions opérationnelles des fonctions stratégiques de la direction
(en allemand Vorstand = Directoire / Aufsichtsrat = Conseil de Surveillance).
Les bénéfices des SA sont soumis à l'impôt sur les sociétés. Les SA sont amenées à verser un dividende à leurs actionnaires le cas échéant.
Une action est un titre d'associé qui représente une partie du capital de la société. Sa valeur nominale (déterminée à la création de la société) est différente de sa valeur réelle qui est déterminée par les derniers échanges qui ont eu lieu, soit gré à gré, soit sur un marché boursier.

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-03-17 01:56:29 GMT)
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Since there is no real English equivalent of this, I think you would be justified to leave it in French. Most English language documents leave this term in French.

If this is a bank, for example 'Natixis' is a S.A.D.C.S., this form lends itself particularly to investment banking. But technology and pharmaceuticals are also often S.A.D.C.S.

'Conseil de Surveillance' is often translated 'Board of Supervisors' in EN-US, and 'Directoire' as 'executive committee' (US) and I think 'directorate' (UK), but these terms really don't convey much about a company in English without an explanation.
Note from asker:
Thank you Joe. You were very clear ans thorough. I now have a very good picture.
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