Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments has completed its acquisition of AIG Private Bank and has renamed the entity Falcon Private Bank.

Aabar Investments paid SFr288 million ($253 million) for the bank and also assumed outstanding loans amounting to SFr63 million. As previously reported, chief executive, Eduardo Leeman, along with the entire senior management team have remained at the bank.

Falcon Private Bank, which is headquartered in Zurich, has branches and representative offices in Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Dubai. Aabar Investments has said it is committed to grow the business further with a particular focus on providing wealth management services to private clients, wealthy families and institutional investors.

“There is excellent potential for further growth in the private banking sector in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and we look forward to working closely with the management of Falcon Private Bank to deliver this expansion. With this purchase, Aabar is again demonstrating its successful building of a wide ranging portfolio of sound, long-term investments which bring real value and benefit back to Abu Dhabi,” said H E Khadem Al Qubaisi, chairman of Aabar Investments and Falcon Private Bank.

The International Petroleum Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, has a 71 per cent shareholding in Aabar Investments.

AIG has received over $170 billion in aid from the US government and has sold a number of assets over recent months. Last month it was reported that Bank of East Asia had sought approval from Taiwan’s Investment Commission for it to acquire AIG’s Taiwanese wealth management unit.

Meanwhile, AIG is looking for a buyer for its asset management arm. According to media reports, several buyers have made bids for the business, which has a $100 billon portfolio, but offers have been lower than might be expected. Commentators have suggested that the stricken insurance giant faces a difficult task of balancing the need to repay government funds with offloading assets at knockdown prices.