Fideuram, the Private Banking division of Intesa Sanpaolo, has bought 69% of Reyl, a Geneva-based independent banking group specializing in high-profile clients. The acquisition was envisaged as part of an agreement signed today by the two credit companies which provides for the creation of a strategic partnership, but also the transfer of the Swiss subsidiary Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval to Reyl itself.
The project, anticipated on Saturday by FIRSTonline in the context of an interview with the CEO of Fideuram Tommaso Corcos, will have to be approved by the competent authorities and should be completed by the first half of 2021. Once the transaction is finalized, the combined company will retain its headquarters in Switzerland, employ 400 people, have assets under management in excess of 18 billion francs (16,7 billion euros) and regulatory shareholders' equity of 250 million francs, approximately 232 million euros. The bank will also have a presence in the EU, Latin America, the Middle East and the Far East.
The agreement will allow Intesa to significantly strengthen itself in wealth management and will allow "Fideuram-ISP PB to strengthen its international private banking activities, especially in areas with promising growth prospects, and continue to play a leading role in the consolidation process currently underway in the Swiss financial sector.”, underlines the company in a statement.
Furthermore, according to the agreement, the current shareholders of Reyl, François Reyl, Pasha Bakhtiar, Nicolas Duchêne, Thomas Fontaine, Christian Fringhian and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula will maintain significant stakes in the bank and will continue to work for its development and strategy at long term.
The Chief Executive Officer of Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, Thomas Corcos underlines that the partnership with Reyl “fits perfectly into the broader process of strengthening and repositioning the foreign activities of our Private Banking Division, especially in Switzerland, the main market for international activities”.
“Following the acquisition of the Morval Group in 2018, this operation allows us to focus with greater determination on this growing sector, which is resilient to crises and is still experiencing a consolidation process”, concludes the manager.
Secondo Francois Reyl, general manager of Reyl, the deal "opens a new chapter in Reyl's corporate history." “The combination of agility and scale, supported by a shared entrepreneurial vision, creates the perfect conditions to succeed in the current environment”, highlighted the manager.
In the transaction Reyl was assisted in this transaction by Deloitte SA and Schellenberg Wittmer, while Fideuram was assisted by Studio Pedersoli, PwC Strategy&, CFM.
