By P.R. Venkat
SINGAPORE--DBS Bank Ltd. Monday said that it has agreed to buy
the Asian private banking business of French bank Société Générale
SA for $220 million, as the Singaporean bank seeks to build on the
lucrative wealth management business in the region.
The acquisitions will allow DBS Bank, which is 29% owned by
state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., to have $12.6
billion of assets under management of Société Générale's private
banking assets in Asia.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the last quarter
of 2014 subject to regulatory approvals, DBS said in a filing to
the Singapore Exchange.
Société Générale has been running private banking operations in
Asia since 1997 with key offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The
sale process, which started late last year, comes as Société
Générale plans to expand its investment bank operations in Asia by
beefing up its debt capital market operations and financing
business in Southeast Asia.
An acquisition of the Asian private banking business by DBS,
which is Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets, would help the
Singaporean bank boost its private wealth management business in
Asia, which is increasingly gaining traction for high-net-worth
individuals and billionaires. DBS has operations in 17 countries
and regions across Asia including Singapore, China, Indonesia and
India.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com
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