Coutts, the wealth division of the Royal Bank of Scotland, will sell its Latin American, Caribbean and African private banking business to the Royal Bank of Canada.
The combined business manages client assets of more than £1.5bn and also includes private banking staff based in Geneva, Switzerland and a team in the Cayman Islands.
The deal is due for completion towards the end of the second quarter of 2012. Specific terms of the deal were not revealed.
According to Coutts, the sale is in line with the company’s strategy to focus its growth on the UK, Switzerland, Russia/CIS, the Middle East and selected markets in Asia.
George Lewis, group head of RBC Wealth Management, said: “This business represents an excellent opportunity to increase our market share with high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in key high growth markets while delivering very attractive returns.”
Karen Simpson, general manager and head of private banking for RBC (Suisse) SA said: “Our Geneva-based business has built a reputation for serving the often complex needs of emerging market clients.
“This acquisition will enable us to increase our client base significantly in these three important target regions.”
