European regulators have blocked the sale of
KBC’s private banking unit, KBL, to Hinduja Bank.
Luxembourg regulator, the CSSF, confirmed it
was dismissing the acquisition due to criteria set out in the
European law governing the financial sector. It refused to give any
other comment when contacted by PBI.
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In May 2010, the Switzerland-based Hinduja
Group announced plans to buy KBC Group’s banking subsidiary KBL for
€1.35bn ($1.87bn) to give its Swiss bank greater access to the
fast-growing Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian markets.
The acquisition was expected to be completed
in the third quarter of 2010.
Hinduja Bank had not responded to a request
for comment at the time of this posting.
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By GlobalDataBlocked sale not to affect strategy:
KBC
KBC Group chief executive Jan Vanhevel said
the decision was disappointing but would not jeopardise the
implementation of its strategic plan to divest KBL as directed by
the European Commission (EC).
“We will thoroughly assess the various options
for KBL over the coming weeks so that, given the current market
conditions, we can take the best decision regarding the future of
KBL,” Vanhevel said in a statement.
“The EC has given us enough flexibility
to enable us to carry out our divestments under the best possible
conditions,” Vanhevel added.
At the end of 2010, KBL had total assets under
management of €47bn. The group employed 2,522 people, of which 418
are private bankers.
KBL is one of Europe’s largest onshore private
banking groups with affiliated local banks in 55 locations across
ten European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg,
Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
