Conrad Hinrich Donner Bank, the Hamburg-based bank, has acquired the German private bank Bank Reuschel & Co.

Conrad Hinrich Donner acquired 100 per cent of the shares of its Munich-based rival from Germany’s Commerzbank, and therewith increased its position among German traditional private banks.

Together the two firms have total assets of €4 billion ($5.7 billion), a work force of 600, net earnings of €11 million and assets under management of €7.5 billion, they said in a statement.

“With this acquisition we strengthen the bancassurance of our group and support our daughter company Conrad Hinrich Donner Bank on its way to becoming a leading private bank in the German-speaking areas. Both firms have, due to their consumer orientation as well as their conservative corporate philosophy, survived the financial crisis unscathed and have therefore an ideal starting base for further growth,” said Reinhold Schulte, chairman of the Signal Iduna Group, which owns Conrad Hinrich Donner Bank.

Commerzbank was required to sell off Reuschel & Co due to imposed conditions by the European Commission, which forced the bank to reduce its holding portfolio after the incorporation of Dresdner Bank.

Commerzbank bought Dresdner Bank about a year ago and has since been selling off holdings. Recently, WealthBriefing reported that the Swiss arm of Commerzbank was sold to Vontobel Group, that the Swiss arm of Dresdner Bank was sold to LGT Group, the Liechtenstein-based wealth manager, and that VPV, the formally Commerzbank-owned Dutch asset manager and private banking business, was bought by employees in a management buyout.

While the Donner/Reuschel deal is still subject to the usual cartel and regulatory approbation, the firms said that the new management will be consisting of the heads of both firms.

Marcus Vitt, the chairman of Conrad Hinrich Donner Bank, said that both banks complement each other, as Donner operated in the north of Germany and Reuschel in the South. Therefore there are no regional overlaps, said the banks. Together both banks want to continue growing in Germany.