Dutch ING Private Bank has sold its operation in the Antillean island of Curaçao to Van Lanschot Bankiers, also based in the Netherlands. The sale, which ING described to WealthBriefing as a “minor transaction”, comes after a review showed expansion in Europe and Asia is its best strategy going forward.

“In Asia we currently have presence in South Korea and Japan. In 2009 we will start activities in Romania, Poland and Turkey. We are also looking for opportunities in China, the Ukraine and Australia,” an ING spokesperson told WealthBriefing.

ING said its Curacaoan operation accounts for less than one per cent of its €57.5 billion ($74 billion) assets under management.  Neither institution was willing to disclose costs involved or the size of the client base concerned.The tranfer will happen laten this year.  

Van Lanschot wishes to expand its domestic private client base, said a spokesman for the bank. Curaçao, the largest island in the Lesser Antilles, is officially part of the Netherlands.

Van Lanschot is the oldest independent bank in the Netherlands and also has branches in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as a current base in Curaçao.  Its private bank has €28.2 billion in  assets under management.

This year, ING reported net inflows in the third quarter, despite the current turmoil. Bernard Coucke, deputy chief executive of ING Private Banking, told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit that the group is reaping the rewards of practices many called “boring”.

"There is a flight to savings and quality and our group is well preserved through the crisis. We have relative conservative approach. You won't find loads of hedge funds and speculative products in our portfolios. Our risk management has always been very experienced," he said.

In Europe and Asia, ING Private Bank might make acquisitions or build the business itself, he said.