Julius Baer, DBS Said to Vie for ABN Amro’s Asia Wealth Arm

Published by Bloomberg – 25th October 2016

Julius Baer Group Ltd., DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and LGT Bank are considering bids for ABN Amro Group NV’s private-banking business in Asia, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The banks have expressed interest in the ABN Amro unit and will study more detailed information on its business, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. ABN Amro hopes to announce a deal by year-end to minimize uncertainty for its private bankers and clients, the people said.

The business could fetch more than $300 million, based on the valuations of other recent deals, the people said. ABN Amro is the 18th-largest private bank in Asia, with $19 billion of assets under management in the region, according to a 2015 ranking by Asian Private Banker.

Published by Wealth Briefing Asia – 21st October 2016

Credit Suisse has appointed Urs Grueter from UBS as its new market group head for Thailand, replacing Christian Senn, who will be taking an extended leave of absence.

Senn, a 27-year veteran of Credit Suisse Private Banking, has led the Thai market since 2014. His recent achievements in that role include launching the onshore wealth management business earlier this year. He plans to return to the bank following a break of up to 12 months starting from the beginning of 2017 to focus on family commitments.

Published by Finews Asia – 14th October 2016

Swiss pure play private bank Julius Baer, which calls Asia its second home, has placed a second SGD-denominated perpetual tier 1 subordinated bond in Singapore.

Last year the Zurich-based private bank, extended its reach in Asia using the Singapore stock exchange to bolster its capital base. According to the bank it was the first foreign bank to issue such a bond directly in Singapore, underlining the importance of Asia as the company’s second home market.

Published by Reuters – 14th October 2016

Deutsche Bank has seen some outflows from its wealth management division but the withdrawals were not significant, senior executives told Reuters, responding to concerns about the possible impact of a US fine.

Germany’s biggest lender is battling to contain the fallout from a US demand for a US$14 billion settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage bonds before the global financial crisis, with markets worried that a fine of that size could cripple the bank.

Published by Finews Asia – 12th October 2016

Deutsche Bank has appointed a stand-in for Ravi Raju, the head of its Asian business who defected to rival UBS and took a key banker with him.

Deutsche’s Ravi Raju has engendered fierce loyalty among his staff in Asia in his nine years at Deutsche. His departure yesterday for Swiss rival UBS has already caused ructions: head of key client partnersAnurag Mahesh is also leaving Deutsche.