Yet Daniel Bouton, SocGen's boss, thinks that the two banks have too many overlapping branches to make such returns possible: in regulated France, you cannot simply close branches and sack people, which is, in part, how banks in America and Britain have increased returns.

ECONOMIST: French banking

Such analytic rigor has resulted in unusual decisions at RBS. When overlapping banks are merged, bankers normally shutter branches in a cost-cutting frenzy.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Too often, the three executive branches of CMO, CEO and CTO claim an overlapping interest in the area of digital experience, leading to a failure to organize efficiently for the new global marketing environment.

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