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Pru boss Thiam declines SocGen post

Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam has now declined a non-executive directorship at French bank Société Générale after fierce criticism from the UK insurer's institutional shareholders.

In a brief statement the Pru said Thiam would not now be joining SocGen as a non-executive director at the end of May as previously planned.

UK shareholders were furious that Thiam had planned to accept the non-exec post while the Pru is in the middle of acquiring AIG Asia for $35.5bn and a $21bn rights issue.

Pru had originally insisted that Thiam joining the SocGen board would not interfere with the acquisition or the rights issue, but today that position changed.

"I am very flattered to have been selected for the role of independent director at Société Générale, which is an outstanding organisation, but my absolute priority is to continue to focus on delivering strong results for our shareholders and on ensuring the success of the transformational transaction and the subsequent integration with AIA. I will therefore not be pursuing this opportunity with Société Générale," Thiam said.

Independent directors at SocGen are expected to attend at least five board meetings a year, but recently because of the credit crunch the frequency has been much greater.

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