M and A
SocGen Spins Off Belgian Private Bank

The private banking operation is being sold to ABN AMRO.
Societe
Generale has agreed to sell its Belgian private banking arm
to ABN AMRO, a move
mirroring the French bank’s move to spin off its Asian private
bank about four years ago.
Netherlands-headquartered ABN AMRO said the deal will
approximately double its Belgian private banking assets to €12
billion ($14.1 billion), according to a statement issued late
yesterday.
The purchase price for the business wasn’t disclosed. Shares in
ABN AMRO close up 0.9 per cent yesterday at €23.57 per share.
Shares in the French bank finished the day at €37.42, up about
0.5 per cent.
"This acquisition is an important milestone in our ambitious
growth journey in Belgium. We are convinced that together we can
further build on our strong private banking proposition in
Belgium,” Solange Rouschop, the chief executive of ABN AMRO’s
private bank in Belgium said.
The planned transaction is subject to approval by the relevant
regulatory and merger control authorities. Closing of the
transaction is expected in the first three months of 2019 and is
estimated to have a minor impact on its CET1 capital ratio, a
standard measure of a bank’s capital buffer.
European banks are reshuffling their business focus. While
Societe Generale and ABN AMRO have both retreated from the Asian
private banking market because of insufficient profitability,
there has also been some changes in their core markets. ABN AMRO,
bought German private bank Bethmann Bank from Credit Suisse at
the end of 2013.