Continued pain at Societe Generale's domestic retail division and a decline in the profitability of its global banking arm during the second quarter was partially mitigated by strong growth in the French lender's overseas retail banking operations. Here are the highlights from the earnings release: Net income down to 1.06 billion euros ($1.25 billion), slumping 28 percent from 1.46 billion euros a year ago.

Revenue fell 26 percent to 5.20 billion euros, vs. 5.39 billion euros according to Thomson Reuters. "We have taken an advantage from the improving environment in central and eastern Europe, from the dynamic in Africa which has compensated the still negative interest rate environment in the euro zone and the low market volatility," Severin Cabannes, deputy chief executive officer (deputy CEO) of the French bank told CNBC on Wednesday. The lender's traditional domestic retail business continues to be plagued by the challenge of persistently low interest rates which sent net interest income down by 6.6 percent during the quarter versus a year ago. It also reported that it had set aside 300 million euros to pay for any potential legal costs, further weighing on profits during the quarter. Meanwhile, costs at the division shot up by 3.7 percent year-on-year, outpacing the higher end of earlier guidance, as efforts to transform the business continued apace.

Chesnot | Getty Images Europe | Getty Images

Key among such efforts are the pivot towards a more commission-based business model to ensure increased stability in revenue generation and the broad roll-out of a digitalization plan to improve the bank's efficiency and cost profile. While commissions edged up by 5 percent during the quarter, the digitalization plan expanded its scope and ambition — both within the French Retail Banking division and throughout the rest of the firm. According to Cabannes, Societe Generale delivered, "an increase in our investment program to accelerate the digitalization of our client relationship first, our internal processes automation and the development of new services and products in specific parts." The absence of legacy structures and bureaucracy remains a key factor in allowing Societe Generale to move more nimbly in newer markets and more fully embrace the digital banking revolution. "In metro markets like France we have to transform the existing model," explained the deputy CEO, alluding to the slower pace of structural change in French retail banking compared to the bank's other businesses.