It would appear that the race to acquire the Asian private banking business units of ABN Amro has become a closed shop.
It seems that the prophetic words of George Orwell that «All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others» still rings true in 2016, even for global wealth managers.
To date media reports have suggested that Julius Baer, DBS Group and LGT Bank are all serious contenders to acquire the 18th-largest private banking business in Asia. A few other players have also been quoted.
Sorry No Deal
finews.asia has now heard from more than one prospective Asian based buyer who has been seriously interested in purchasing the ABN Amro business units, but have been refused access to the sale documents by Lazards. The Dutch lender has appointed Lazard's Benelux team, based in Amsterdam and Brussels, to handle the sale.
U.K. bank Barclays’ who sold their Asian wealth management units to the Bank of Singapore, the private banking business of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), also hired Lazard's to advise on that transaction.
