United Kingdom banking group Barclays Bank plc, which is in talks with South African banking group Absa, said on Thursday that it has made an offer to acquire the wealth business of ING Securities Bank (France), consisting of ING Ferri and ING Private Banking.
The offer is subject to consultation with employee representative bodies and finalising terms.
The acquisition will combine two complementary affluent banking businesses in France and create an operation with more than 50 branches, 140 000 clients and €10-billion of assets under management.
Subject to consultation, the acquisition is expected to be completed at the end of the second quarter of this year, it said.
Pascal Roché, MD of Barclays France, will become MD of the combined business, which will remain part of Barclays International Retail and Commercial Banking business.
Commenting on the proposed acquisition, David Roberts, chief executive of Barclays International Retail and Commercial Banking, said: “France is one of the most attractive wealth markets in Europe with four million affluent individuals and forecast growth in investible assets of over 7% per annum.
“This acquisition complements our existing operations and would create a larger and more diverse business for Barclays in France, increasing its customer base by a quarter, and providing a platform to accelerate growth.
“It would also further the Barclays group’s stated aim to grow the proportion of our income from outside the UK.”
ING Ferri is the brand name of personal banking activities oriented to affluent customers and based on stock-brokerage and wealth-management expertise. ING Private Banking business is providing dedicated private banking services to affluent clients.
ING Ferri and ING Private Banking businesses have assets under management of €2,7-billion, 30 000 clients and 13 branches. — I-Net Bridge