ABN Amro sells Asian private banking business to LGT

[AMSTERDAM] ABN Amro said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its private banking operations in Asia and the Middle East, with US$20 billion (S$28.3 billion) in assets under management, to LGT, a business run by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.

Terms were not disclosed.

ABN said it expected to book a "substantial" gain on the transaction. Spokeswoman Brigitte Seegers said ABN did not disclose the book value of its private banking operations.

ABN, one of Europe's larger private banks with the MeesPierson brand, has said it considers private banking a core business, but intends to focus on markets in Northwest Europe. The Asia and Middle East operations represented about 10 per cent of its global private banking business.

For LGT, the deal will roughly double the size of its Asian private banking operations, and increase its total assets under management globally to US$160 billion. "This acquisition will allow us to further extend our market position and to achieve further profitable growth," said LGT CEO Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein in a statement.

REUTERS