There are two bidders for ABN Amro’s Asia private banking business. DBS Group Holdings and Julius Baer Gruppe are considering acquiring the business that manages about $20 billion in assets. ABN Amro had reportedly put the business on the block recently and the sale could fetch between $300 million and $350 million. ABN Amro is the latest to plan an exit from the private banking business in Asian region because of slow growth and decreasing market prospects. Earlier this year, Barclays agreed to sell its wealth and investment management business in Hong Kong and Singapore to a unit of Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. However, with nearly 5 million individuals with $1 million in liquid assets, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing wealth region in the world. ABN Amro had cut more than 20 jobs in Hong Kong and Singapore in the past few months to make its business more efficient.
