A Geneva-based bank is on the deal hunt in Asia, where it would like to bolster its assets by up to $5 billion. What are the most likely candidates?
Union Bancaire Privée would be «particularly interested» in buying a private bank or wealth assets in Asia, CEO and owner Guy de Picciotto told Swiss newspaper «Finanz und Wirtschaft» (behind paywall, in German).
De Picciotto has put his firm into the running for the glut of private banking deals which is sweeping the region: several big players such as Société Générale and Barclays have sold out to local rivals or bigger foreign firms. UBP itself bought Coutts' international business nearly three years ago. Royal Bank of Canada's Hong Kong and Singapore branches are the latest candidates reportedly being pitched by investment bankers to hungry buyers.
Build On Break-Even
UBP is profitable in Asia, but small for its ambitions, according to de Picciotto, who is the son of firm founder Edgar de Picciotto. The Swiss bank is just breaking even in Singapore and Hong Kong, where it employs 250 people and manages more than 12.5 billion Swiss francs. That translates to over 10 percent of overall assets under management – a share that de Picciotto wants to lift to one third within five years, mimicking rivals like Julius Baer.
«I would like to grow our assets by 3 billion to 5 billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion to $5.3 billion) – organically or by acquisition,» de Picciotto is quoted as saying in the interview. Besides bulking up on assets in Asia, de Picciotto said UBP would consider deals in London or in Luxembourg – in short, outside of Switzerland.
Many of UBP's advisers are private bankers from Coutts such as Michael Blake, who leads the Swiss bank's activities in the region. Last year, de Picciotto voiced confidence that UBP can pick up more advisers as rivals pull out, in an interview with finews.com.
