Swiss bank to merge two HSBC units

ZURICH, SEPT. 13. HSBC Guyerzeller Bank, a Swiss private bank owned by British-based HSBC Holdings, will take over two other Swiss-based banks already owned by the HSBC group, according to HSBC Guyerzeller.

In a statement, HSBC Guyerzeller said that it would form a single business unit under its own name, incorporating the two units, Credit Commercial de France (Suisse) SA and Handelsfinanz-CCF Bank.

The plan will be completed next year assuming regulatory approval and will create a single private banking group, with assets under management of over 20 billion Swiss francs ($12.06 billion). HSBC Guyerzeller alone has around 15 billion francs under management.

Zurich-based HSBC Guyerzeller will gain a stronger presence in Geneva, the second major banking centre in Switzerland after Zurich, and the combined unit will also have a base in Lugano in southern Switzerland.

The newly-combined units will have centralised back-office operations in Zurich, aiming to reap efficiencies in an area of private banking where costs are generally believed to have risen sharply.

- Reuters

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Section  : Business
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