BNP Paribas buys ABN Amro’s Luxembourg business
BGL BNP Paribas is buying all the outstanding shares in ABN Amro (Luxembourg) and its fully owned subsidiary ABN Amro Life as the latter sees no future for its wealthtech business in the country.
Luxembourg-based bank BGL BNP Paribas will transfer the activities of ABN Amro Life to Cardif Lux Vie immediately following the acquisition. The proposed transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approval, should be finalised by Q3 2018. Financial details were not disclosed.
Pieter van Mierlo, CEO private banking of ABN Amro, says in terms of the wealth management market in Luxembourg it does “not see possibilities to increase to the scale necessary”.
Carlo Thill, country head of BNP Paribas in Luxembourg, chairman of the management board of BGL BNP Paribas and chairman of the board of directors of Cardif Lux Vie, adds: “This acquisition will reinforce the key positions that the BNP Paribas group in Luxembourg holds in the wealth management and in the insurance market.”
Thill’s job title was actually longer than his quote.
Funds and demos
BNP Paribas’ interest in the world of wealthtech has been well documented.
Last year, BNP Paribas Asset Management launched Parvest Disruptive Technology, a fund investing in technologies for “transformative business models”. It is a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Parvest SICAV and is currently valued at €181 million.
Also in 2017, it unveiled its new Client Experience venture co-created with customers and fintech firms.
The demo day – for which BNP Paribas Wealth Management invited a host of European journalists (with FinTech Futures included and representing the UK) – was held at the bank’s “Big Factory” incubator at the BGL BNP Paribas head office in Luxembourg.
