The transaction announced by the Italian lender in May last year has completed following regulatory approval by Swiss authorities.

REYL Intesa Sanpaolo has completed the integration with its Swiss arm Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval, following approval by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

This merge, originally announced last May, is part of the strategic alliance with Fideuram-Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, a business controlled by the Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo.

Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking has acquired a 69 per cent stake in REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, partially through the contribution in kind of its Swiss banking subsidiary Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval, based in Lugano. The partners of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo collectively hold 31 per cent of the combined entity.

Last year Nicolas Duchêne, deputy chief executive officer and partner of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, was appointed interim CEO of ISPBM to to ensure the success of the operational transition and the integration of teams. 

“This partnership will allow us to achieve our significant growth potential while preserving our 360 degree business model and our strong corporate culture. We look forward to forging lasting relationships with our new colleagues and tackling future challenges by working as part of a now fully-integrated team,” François Reyl, CEO and partner of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, said.

“In addition to the numerous synergy opportunities, this merger allows us to pursue our commercial ambitions in the Ticino region, where we intend to maintain and build our Lugano presence, allowing us to offer a sales force tailored to servicing local and Italian clients as well as those of third-party managers in this promising market,” Nicolas Duchêne (pictured), deputy chief executive officer and partner of REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, said.

Following the transaction, REYL Intesa Sanpaolo now has more than 400 people and holds assets under administration exceeding SFr25 billion ($27.1 billion). This figure excludes the assets managed by 1875 Finance, in which REYL Intesa Sanpaolo has recently acquired a 40 per cent stake.

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest lender, is said to be considering additional acquisitions of small private banks in Switzerland, Carlo Messina, chief executive, told Bloomberg TV in November. The group is due to unveil a new business plan this month after buying mid-tier peer UBI last year to control more than a fifth of the Italian market.

The board of directors now comprises the following members: Christian Merle (chairman), Michel Broch (vice chairman), Yves-Claude Aubert, Riccardo Barbarini, Tommaso Corcos, Liane Elias Hoffman, Lino Mainolfi and Ruth Metzler-Arnold.