A Genevan wealth manager is buying the Swiss subsidiary of Banque Degroof Petercam, the latest in a series of deals in Switzerland's private banking industry.
Gonet & Cie is acquiring Belgium's Banque Degroof Petercam (Suisse) SA, the two Swiss wealth managers said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Neither disclosed financial details of the transaction.
The combined bank will manage more than 5.5 billion Swiss francs ($6.4 billion) in client assets, they said. Degroof Petercam is the largest independent finance institute in Belgium. In Switzerland, the name is mainly known for asset management products.
Frenzied Consolidation
After the merger of family-owned Degroof and Petercam in 2015, the Swiss subsidiary was meant as the third pillar after Brussels and Luxembourg. The Belgian bank was close to a deal three years ago, finews.com reported at the time.
The deal is the latest transaction in an increasingly active consolidation of Switzerland's hidebound wealth management industry. Union Bancaire Privée snapped up two deals in short order last year, while Zurich-based Kaleido found a new owner last week.
Separate Money Management
Independent boutiques have been no less frenzied in merging, finews.com reported earlier on Tuesday. For its part, Gonet, which reported 4.8 billion francs in assets in 2019, merged with Mourgue d' Algue in 2018.
Degroof Petercam said it will still continue institutional services in Switzerland through its asset management unit. The merger between Gonet Banque Degroof Petercam Suisse is effective retroactively to January 1, pending regulatory approval.
