Société Générale's private bank hopes to gain clients, extend int'l reach. SG Private Banking, the wealth-management arm of Paris-based Société Générale Group, hopes to become be a fixture of Canada's private-client space by acquiring CWM Group, a Calgary-based investment-counseling, financial-planning and accounting firm.

Quelques arpents de neige

Details of the transaction, which is expected to close in January 2008, weren't disclosed.

First and foremost SG views the acquisition of CWM, which manages about $658 million, as an "opportunity to expand its client portfolio," according to a 23 November 2007 statement released by Société Générale Group. Second, the move is in keeping with SG's "ambitions to further its international expansion" and to "strengthen Société Générale Group's business in Canada, where it is already present through its corporate and investment banking activities."

Meanwhile CWM will benefit from SG's expertise "in structured products and alternative investments," according to the same source.

CWM's founder and CEO Paul Boeda will stay on to direct and develop the firm's local operations.

SG operates in 23 countries and has about $112 billion in assets under management. -FWR

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