DBS in advanced talks to buy SocGen Asia private bank

[HONG KONG] Singapore's DBS Group Holdings is in advanced talks to buy Societe Generale's Asian private bank, a deal that would help boost its private banking assets by almost a third, sources familiar with the matter said.

It was unclear how much South-east Asia's biggest lender would be willing to pay for the bank, but previous estimates from financial sources have valued it at between US$300 million and US$400 million.

A successful deal would make it the third major transaction in Asia's competitive private banking landscape since the global financial crisis, as smaller players struggle to generate enough revenue to support expensive bankers and rising regulatory costs.