ING, the Netherlands-based banking and insurance group, which is restructuring its business operations after losses sustained in the credit crunch, said today it has agreed to sell its Asian private banking arm to Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, for $ 1.463 billion.

The deal comes after speculation surrounding a number of potential suitors for the assets, including Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, and DBS, which is based in Singapore.

“After today’s transaction we have completed the divestment programme of our Private Banking business. ING Private Banking in the Benelux and Central Eastern Europe remain integral parts of ING,” Jan Hommen, chief executive at ING, said in a statement.

The sale of the private bank is the latest in a number of private banking M&A deals. Analysts have told WealthBriefing they expect further transactions as the industry restructures and consolidates to deal with the aftermath of the financial turmoil and heavier regulatory burdens.

ING has been offloading its private banking assets. Earlier this month, Julius Baer said agreed to buy ING Bank (Switzerland), paying SFr520 million (around $510 million) in cash. That deal includes the acquisition of subsidiaries in Monaco and Jersey.

In today’s statement, ING said the deal will generate an estimated net profit for ING of about €300 million and is expected to free up around €370 million of capital. Completion of the transaction between ING and OCBC Bank is subject to a number of regulatory approvals and is expected to occur around the end of this year.

ING’s Asian Private Banking unit has around €11 billion of assets under management. The Asia franchise offers private banking services in 11 markets, including Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore.

Eli Leenaars, CEO Retail Banking, commented: “With OCBC Bank we found a solid new owner for our Asian Private Banking Business. OCBC Bank is a professional player offering a wide range of specialist financial services. ING remains confident about Asia’s long-term financial and economic prospects and potential and we are committed to our other existing Asian banking positions.”

Meanwhile, a statement from OCBC Bank said the deal marks a transformational step in the company's private banking business and is expected to more than triple its private client assets under management to $23 billion. The move, which turns OCBC into a leading Asian bank, is in line with its New Horizons II Strategy, which seeks to create a leading wealth management player out of the firm, serving mass, mass affluent, and high net worth clients.

IAPB, which has an AUM of $15.8 billion, serves clients from South East  Asia, India, Greater China, Japan and Korea through its Singapore and Hong Kong desks and supporting offices in Dubai, Manila, and Seoul.