DBS Bank's wealth management unit has nearly completed the integration of the Asian private banking business it acquired from Societe Generale last October.

There are still some small details to be ironed out but the process should be completed in the second quarter, DBS said.

Aside from boosting DBS' assets under management (AUM) and headcount, the deal has also given the bank a presence in markets where it did not have a strong franchise previously.

Ms Tan Su Shan, group head of consumer banking and wealth management at DBS, said in an interview last Thursday: "The acquisition doubled our size in Hong Kong. We were already quite big in Taiwan but so was SocGen, so that was good. SocGen was also quite strong in the Philippines and Dubai."

There are strong rumours that DBS may already be eyeing another acquisition. Chief executive Piyush Gupta dropped a big hint last October when he said the bank will "take a look at Coutts when it comes on the block".

Royal Bank of Scotland is looking to sell its Switzerland-based private banking and wealth management unit Coutts International as it faces pressure to focus on its British operations.

Ms Tan declined to comment on a potential bid, saying DBS would consider acquisition opportunities that came at the right price and offered sustainable growth.

After all, its organic growth path is just as exciting, she noted.

"I think we still have more to do in terms of deepening relationships we have on board now. We've got really good quality clients and we need to entrench these relationships by bringing the whole bank to bear with them. We also need to continue to widen our nets and bring in new customers," Ms Tan said.

"The engines of growth have always been China and Indonesia and that continues. The non-resident Indian population has also been incredibly active and welcoming to a Singapore bank."

"A majority" of SocGen's clients stayed on with DBS and transferred more than US$10 billion (S$13.5 billion) of AUM. This has given the bank high net- worth-assets under management of S$88 billion.

DBS worked very hard to ensure a smooth transition for both staff and clients, Ms Tan noted.

As part of the takeover, for example, DBS signed a memorandum of understanding with SocGen that gives DBS clients access to the French bank's private banking product offerings in Europe as well as its corporate and investment banking solutions.

"We wanted to make it as seamless as possible so they didn't feel like they were going to miss the best that SocGen had to offer. And where we complemented that was by giving an Asian offering. We could also give them the whole bank - the consumer and corporate bank, cards, mortgages, loans," Ms Tan said.

While a few SocGen clients decided not to move to DBS, many were "very accepting" of the takeover and wanted to see what DBS could do for them, she added.

"They wanted to see our Asian deal flow, they were very interested to know more about our Asian connectivity. They would say, 'What kind of help can you give me if I'm in commodities, real estate or shipping?'

"We had customers who own buildings and are exploring asset securitisation and they were keen to see what we could do. Others in the manufacturing or export- oriented sectors are looking at us for our Asian connectivity, especially for help in linking them up to potential partners in Asia."

Source: http://business.asiaone.com/news/dbs-raring-grow-after-socgen-unit-takeover

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