DBS among bidders for SocGen's Asia private bank

[HONG KONG] Singapore's DBS Group Holdings and ABN AMRO are among the suitors to place final bids for Societe Generale's Asia private bank, in a US$400 million deal, as smaller players exit the region's competitive private banking business.

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.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse is another suitor submitting a final bid, people familiar with the matter said, after Societe Generale whittled down the initial list of 10 companies to five after the first-round bidding. It was unclear if the remaining two bidders submitted final bids.