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UPDATE 3-SocGen, Rockefeller in global private banking deal

Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:15pm IST
 
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By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Pascale Denis

PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research)and U.S. wealth manager Rockefeller Financial Services have formed an alliance in private banking, an area which has remained relatively resilient to the global credit crunch.

As part of the deal, SG Private Banking has bought a 37 percent stake in Rockefeller Financial Services, the companies said on Tuesday. The companies did not say how much SocGen had paid for the stake, but a source close to the situation said SocGen had paid "around $100 million".

The two said in a joint statement they will "share areas of expertise and jointly serve the financial needs of ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices around the world".

SG Private Banking has assets of around 71 billion euros ($109.1 billion) under management and has been one of the best-performing divisions of France's second biggest listed bank in recent months.

Rockefeller is headquartered in New York and had $29 billion of assets under management as of March 31.

Despite huge losses for banks due to problems stemming from U.S. subprime mortgages, private banking has continued to see signs of growth, especially in emerging markets.

In May, Swiss bank Julius Baer said it had seen a rising flow of deposits, while Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) announced plans to launch private banking for wealthy Chinese clients.  Continued...

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