Jacques Prost, CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management, which is now the majority shareholder in Bank Degroof Petercam, and Hugo Lasat, CEO of Degroof Petercam. Photos: Indosuez Wealth Management, Degroof Petercam

Jacques Prost, CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management, which is now the majority shareholder in Bank Degroof Petercam, and Hugo Lasat, CEO of Degroof Petercam. Photos: Indosuez Wealth Management, Degroof Petercam

Indosuez, a unit of the Crédit Agricole banking group, has said it now holds a majority stake in the banking and investment fund firm Degroof Petercam. Together, the outfits employ around 770 staff in Luxembourg.

Indosuez Wealth Management has completed its takeover of Bank Degroof Petercam.

The deal, last August, means that Indosuez now controls 65% of Degroof Petercam. CLdN Cobelfret, a Belgian-Luxembourg logistics group, “holds nearly 20% of the capital,” Indosuez on 4 June 2024. Indosuez said it would “shortly submit a filing” with Belgian market regulators for a “voluntary public takeover bid” for the remaining 15% of shares.

The deal aims to “generate significant synergies”, the company stated, by combining “Degroof Petercam’s advisory services to entrepreneurs, investment advice and fund offerings in particular ESG, and its fund servicing capabilities” with “the extensive range of services of Indosuez Wealth Management including structured products, private equity and real estate, as well as its financing capacity and international network.”

Indosuez said that, with the completed deal, it looked after approximately €200bn in client assets and had a total of 4,500 employees.

Bank Degroof Petercam is active in private banking, asset management, asset services and investment banking. At the end of last year, it employed 1,500 staff worldwide, including roughly 410 in Luxembourg. It posted a net profit of €56.3m in 2023, down from €76.4m in 2022, and total net revenues of €579m in 2023, up from €559m the year prior. Total net client assets were €74.3bn at the end of 2023, compared to €71.1bn at the end of 2022.

Indosuez Wealth Management is part of the Crédit Agricole banking group, employing around 3,000 staff worldwide, including 360 full-time equivalent employees in Luxembourg as of 31 December 2022. It posted total banking income of €327m in 2022, up from €192m in 2021. It had €130bn in assets under management as of 31 December 2022.

The bank’s statement on Tuesday said the transaction would add “approximately 30 basis points” to Crédit Agricole SA’s CET1 ratio and was “expected to generate additional net income” for the group--“after synergies”--of +€150m to +200m by 2028.”

The closing of the transaction means that , CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management, is expected to Bank Degroof Petercam’s board as a non-executive director.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed.