The green light has arrived from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the equally important one from the Swiss financial market supervisory authority (FINMA). The strategic partnership between Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking and REYL & Cie is now a reality.
Fideuram – ISPB will merge its Swiss banking subsidiary Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval with REYL & Cie, further strengthening its position as a leader in the Swiss banking market.
The new company resulting from the merger will be based in Geneva and will retain the legal name of REYL & Cie and will have approximately 400 employees, assets under management close to 25 billion Swiss francs (23 billion euros) and mandatory equity capital of approximately 210 million Swiss francs (190 million euros). The two banks announced it in a joint press release. The two companies will present themselves to the market with a new logo that will combine their respective brands.
The details of the operation provide that Fideuram – ISPB confers its Swiss banking branch Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval (ISPBM) to REYL & Cie. The legal merger of REYL & Cie and ISPBM is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. “The partnership – specifies the press release – allows Fideuram-ISPB to significantly strengthen its international asset management activities and to continue to play a leading role in the consolidation process of the Swiss financial sector. The group confirms the choice of Switzerland as the main hub for its international private banking activities.
Following the closing of the transaction, REYL & Cie will maintain its headquarters in Geneva and “continue to lead its 360° organic growth strategy – continues the joint release – focused on providing innovative solutions to clients across five businesses line: Wealth Management, Entrepreneur & Family Office Services, Corporate Advisory & Structuring, Asset Services e Asset Management. Recent ventures such as Asteria Investment Managers and Obviam (a regulated Swiss fund management subsidiary specializing in impact investing) or Alpian (a newly incubated aspiring digital bank for mass affluent clients) will greatly benefit, the two groups say, from the partnership strategic.
From a shareholder point of view, the effect of the merger will lead Fideuram – ISPB to control 69% of the capital of REYL & Cie, while partners François Reyl, Pasha Bakhtiar, Nicolas Duchêne, Thomas Fontaine, Christian Fringhian and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula will collectively retain a 31% stake. The partners will be committed to the long-term and will be responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the strategy, concludes the release.
“The deal with REYL, he points out Tommaso Corcos, CEO of Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, reaffirms our international growth strategy, consolidating one of the best privately managed banks in the Eurozone and choosing Switzerland as the base of our network abroad”. The comment by François Reyl, CEO of REYL & Cie was also positive: "The closing of the operation marks a new chapter in the history of REYL which will open up a scenario of new development opportunities for both parties".
Nicolas Duchêne, deputy CEO and partner of REYL, will also assume the role of General Manager of Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank (Suisse) Morval, ad interim, until the legal merger of the companies. The decision is aimed at accelerating commercial synergies between the companies as much as possible.
