Sal Oppenheim, one of Germany’s oldest and most prestigious private banks, agreed in early December to buy most of BHF-Bank for E600m from ING of the Netherlands. The deal is a major coup for Sal Oppenheim, as it is only taking over the so-called best parts of BHF-Bank – namely its private banking, asset management and securities trading businesses.
And UBS of Switzerland consolidated its position as Europe’s leading bank for the ultra-rich by acquiring German wealth manager Sauerborn Trust in December for an estimated E120m. The purchase will boost UBS’s assets under management from wealthy clients in Germany by 60% to E16bn.
