Swiss wealth management continues to consolidate: Britain's Schroders is abandoning an eastern European private banking arm it had operated out of Switzerland. The buyer is a smaller Genevan rival.
Schroders Bank in Switzerland said it is selling its eastern European private banking business, including advisors, to Swiss bank CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique, or CBH, according to a statement from the two.
The firm had decided that its clients are better served by a bank specialized in the region, Schroders said. For CBH, the deal – the financial details of which weren't disclosed – makes good on its strategy of acquiring in its core markets.
Schroders Goes Onshore
The unit currently manages around 700 million Swiss francs ($705.9 million). The deal won't affect CBH's capital strength, the Geneva-based bank said.
CBH already bought FIBI Bank's private banking activities in Zurich as well as Banque Privée Espirito Santo three years ago. Founded in 1975, CBH is owned by a family and employs roughly 200 people who managed 8.8 billion francs.
Last year, Schroders bulked up its Swiss business onshore as well as focused itself on Britain, Scandinavia, Spain, and the Middle East as its core markets. The bank hired a series of new private bankers and expanded its product offering for these markets as well.
