Fortis reported a net inflow of €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) of assets under management in its private banking unit during the first nine mon...

Fortis reported a net inflow of €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) of assets under management in its private banking unit during the first nine months of 2005, according to the Belgian-Dutch financial firm’s nine months financial results released yesterday. Funds under management within private banking are up 13 per cent so far this year to €59 billion, an increase of €6.6 billion. Total funds under management, which includes Fortis Investments, rose 21 per cent year-on-year in the nine month period to €150 billion. The bank said net profit at its commercial and private banking business rose 12 per cent to €413 million. Fortis no longer reports separate private banking results since the reorganisation of the bank earlier this year. Also, the MeesPierson private banking brand has all but disappeared. The bank said the profit rise was led by a 7 per cent growth in total revenues “and supported by a change in provisions for impairment on loans that came in 9 per cent lower.” Fortis also said in its results statement: “Through the acquisition of Dryden Wealth Management and the strategic alliance with ICICI, Fortis can access several new growth markets including the UK, Monaco, Taiwan and Indian expatriates.” The bank added: “In Dubai, Fortis was recently granted a license for private banking and opened an office with a team of ten specialists. As Dubai is rapidly becoming a financial hub for the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, Fortis’s presence there will reinforce its global reach, in particular towards Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian clients.”