SocGen's restructuring dents third-quarter results but lifts capital buffer

PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale , France's third-largest listed bank, reported a 34.8% drop in quarterly net profit, marked by weakness in its trading and investment banking business.Chief Executive Frederic Oudea cited progress in his efforts to overhaul the balance sheet, having exited private banking in Belgium, cut 23 branches in French retail networks and freed up capital at its corporate and investment bank.SocGen reported a third-quarter net profit of 854 million euros ($945.7 million)..