Sources: "Siemens" withdrew over 500 million Euros from "Société Générale"

"Siemens" AG, the largest European provider of engineering solutions, has withdrawn in the first month of July, deposits worth over 500 million Euros from French bank "Société Générale", transferring them to the European Central Bank (ECB), international press announced, citing sources close to the situation.

The sources say that the German group withdrew the money because it was concerned over the bank"s potential balance sheet problems in the future, as well as to benefit from the higher interest rates paid by the ECB. The withdrawal came before the publication of the outcome of the European banking stress tests in July, the sources said, adding that, overall, "Siemens" deposited somewhere between 4 and 6 billion Euros with the ECB, most of it in 1-week deposits.

But another source claims that the money was only transferred because the deposit had reached maturity, not because of the worries over the solidity of French banks.

Wolfram Trost, a spokesperson for "Siemens", said that the company officials do not comment on market rumors. The officials of "Société Générale" and those of the ECB refused to comment on the information.

It bears mentioning that at the end of last year, "Siemens" launched its own bank, to finance its clients" projects.

• "Siemens" will focus on renewable energy

"Siemens" will halt its construction of nuclear reactors, after Germany decided to give up using nuclear energy, and will focus on renewable energy, AFP informs, as quoted by Mediafax.

The German group will abandon its plans to cooperate with Russian "Rosatom" in the nuclear reactor sector, "Siemens" CEO, Peter Loescher said in an interview with German publication Der Spiegel. His comments were confirmed by "Siemens".

The exit from the nuclear sector will not have any financial implications, said the group"s spokesperson, Alfons Benzinger.

"Siemens" has gradually restricted its nuclear operations, over the last years, after having participated in the construction of some of the largest reactors in the world, in the last years of the 20th century.

The group is now developing on renewable energy, such as wind turbines and solar panels, but will continue to build steam turbines, which can be used for conventional and nuclear power plants alike, Benzinger said.