SG chief says bank has capital to stay independent

PARIS (Reuters) - The head of Societe Generale said on Wednesday that the French bank, hit by a record trading losses, had enough capital to stay independent.

"The capital is there," Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Bouton told France 2 television.

Asked about persistent speculation that SocGen is a bid target, Bouton replied: "These rumors have been around for 12 years now."

Bouton added in response to the question about whether SocGen was a bid target: "The strong determination of our customers, the strong determination of our staff, is offering an answer."

He also declined to comment on the pressure President Nicolas Sarkozy has put on him, and said he would stay on through the crisis

His offer to resign has been rejected by the board.

"I am a man of duty. I'm not going to jump overboard when the board is asking me to stay to do my duty."

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Andrew Callus)