The much talked about transaction has come true: Vontobel has agreed to buy Notenstein La Roche, the private-banking unit of Raiffeisen Switzerland.

The supervisory board of Raiffeisen Switzerland decided to restructure the asset management business due to the good development and therefore decided to sell Notenstein La Roche private bank to Vontobel, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Vontobel will pay about 700 million Swiss francs for Notenstein La Roche. The private-banking business of Raiffeisen has thirteen branches and 16.5 billion francs in assets under management.

Additional Tier-1 Bond

Vontobel will finance the acquisition with capital it has available as well as an additional Tier-1 bond. The bank will publish further details about the emission at a later date.

The acquisition perfectly complemented the strong organic growth achieved in wealth management over the years, Vontobel said.

«The enlarged client base gives us an opportunity to make even more effective use of our successful platforms,» said Zeno Staub, Vontobel’s chief executive.