The name of Banca Svizzera Italiana is final history. The private bank, most recently home to scandals, and closed down in Singapore, has finally been consumed by EFG.
The integration of the Swiss business of Banca Svizzera Italiana (BSI) into EFG Bank has been completed. This means that the majority of the customer relationships and employees of BSI are transferred, EFG said in a media release. The combined business will now be launched on the market under the name EFG.
Updated EFG Branding
With the integration of BSI, EFG has relaunched its brand. A close look however at the changed EFG brand logo still features a touch of the old BSI brand – a distinctive red flourish on one letter.
In Asia, the integration has already been completed, as was the case for BSI overseas in the Bahamas. The remaining BSI units in Luxembourg and Monaco are expected to be integrated during the second quarter of 2017.
Still Haggling
Still another open question is the effective purchase price, which EFG has to pay to the former owner, the Brazilian bank BTG Pactual.
EFG will only pay 782.5 million Swiss francs on the basis of a further evaluation. BTG is of the opinion that BSI is worth more than 1.116 billion Swiss francs.
Ignominious Ending
BSI had been involved in the scandal swirling around the Malaysian state fund 1MDB. Former bankers of the firm were convicted for aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions related to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also referred to as Jho Low.
In Singapore, the bank's regulator withdrew the license; in Switzerland, Finma allowed the sale of the bank.
