Swiss asset manager Vontobel buys private bank Notenstein for $705 mln

Swiss private bank and asset manager Vontobel is buying private bank Notenstein La Roche from Swiss cooperative bank Raiffeisen for 700 million Swiss francs ($705 million).

Vontobel said the deal, which brings the enlarged client base, gives the company an opportunity to make even more effective use of its successful platforms. Raiffeisen said in a separate statement that it was selling Notenstein La Roche to free up regulatory capital to grow in its core business and because it was now able to manage its investment business on its own.

 The transaction, which the parties expect to be completed in the third quarter of 2018 after regulatory approval, would be financed through available capital and a new Tier 1 bond. 

Last year, Raiffeisen shed over 2.1 billion francs in managed assets from Eastern European customers, as it reduced client assets by an overall 17 percent. It helped boost the unit’s profitability by nearly a third. Notenstein La Roche holds client assets totaling around 16 billion Swiss francs.