Societe Generale Reportedly Plans Sale Of Asia Private Bank Unit

(RTTNews) - French lender Societe Generale SA , or SocGen, (SCGLY.PK, SCGLF.PK) is exploring the sale of its Asia private banking arm due to rising costs as well as increased competition from global players and local companies, media reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The discussions are confidential, and the Singapore-based unit could likely get around $600 million, these reports said. Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Singapore's United Overseas Bank Ltd and DBS Group Holding Ltd are among the preferred bidders.

With the planned sale, the bank expect to exit a market that has turned difficult for smaller private banks, as they lack the asset base to compete with large global players.

The planned sale is part of SocGen's announced plan to move ahead with its transformation process amid an economic environment that remains turbulent.

As per previous reports, the bank disposed of its Japan private bank to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (SMFG) for an undisclosed sum. In December last year, the bank agreed to sell the majority stake in its Egyptian subsidiary to Qatar National Bank Group for about $1.97 billion.

In recent times, Bank of America Corp. (BAC) sold its Asia and other non-US private banking business to Swiss private banking group Julius Baer Group Ltd. (JBAXY.PK,JBARF.PK). Earlier, Dutch financial conglomerate ING Groep NV (ING) sold its Asian private bank to Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking.

In Paris, SocGen shares closed Thursday's trading at 36.74 euros, down 0.32 euros or 0.88 percent.