VP Bank is interested in buying the Asian asset management business of a French banking institute. Vaduz-based VP Bank has plenty of liquidity to conclude such a transaction.
VP Bank didn’t mince its words at the annual press conference earlier this month, when it said it aimed to expand its Asian business through takeovers.
CEO Alfred W. Moeckli told finews.com that globally active banks increasingly evaluated their private-banking units, suggesting that his company was ready to pounce if an opportunity arose.
Rumors
One such globally active bank is France’s Crédit Mutuel, which in Switzerland is present with its Banque CIC unit. CIC in Singapore has about 200 employees. And speculation about this branch have been intense recently.
The «Asian Private Banker», a Hong Kong-based banking news site, said that DBS bank of Singapore and UBP private bank of Geneva were interested in the CIC business. The latest rumor now has it that VP Bank has entered the fray.
VP Bank: No Comment
A VP Bank spokesman declined to comment on the rumor, when confronted with the speculation by finews.com.
Signs are though that VP Bank and CIC may be in talks about a deal. UBP seems less interested following the conclusion of the integration of Coutts private bank. DBS by contrast always gets a mentioning in takeover speculation regarding the financial market of Singapore given its strong position.
Money Is Available
VP Bank has about 400 million Swiss francs available to conclude a takeover in keeping with its ambitious growth targets. That should suffice to buy a company with assets under management of 25 billion Swiss francs.
In addition to the liquidity available, VP Bank also has a stock of shares worth 80 million francs it bought back and may sell Tier-1-bonds worth a further 60 million francs.
