CACEIS to buy RBC’s European asset servicing business

CACEIS is set to buy the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC’s) European asset servicing business and its related Malaysian service centre, for an undisclosed price.

RBC’s European securities services book of business includes custody and global custody FX, securities lending, fund administration and transfer agency, along with middle-office services.

Its assets under administration are roughly €1.2 trillion through its fund services business and approximately €0.5 trillion in assets under custody.

The deal is expected to expand CACEIS, the asset servicing banking group of Crédit Agricole  and Santander ‘to roughly €4.8 trillion AuC and to approximately €3.5 trillion AuA.

The French bank said, the integration of the RBC Investor Services business into CACEIS would deliver scale and stronger competitive positioning as CACEIS would benefit from a larger geographical presence, full coverage of the value chain and an expanded offering for both existing and new clients.

it is subject to standard regulatory and antitrust approvals, but is expected to be finalised by the end of Q3 2023.

This builds on CACEIS’ purchase of KAS Bank’s securities services business, which was announced in July 2019 and completed in May 2021.

In December 2019, CACEIS completed the acquisition of Santander Securities Services (S3) in Spain and ALMOST 50% of S3’s operations in Latin America, specifically in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

“This combination with RBC Investor Services helps us to consolidate our position as a leading European player in asset servicing,” said CACEIS’ chief executive Jean-Francois Abadie.

He added, “We are enhancing our leadership across a range of services, increasing our position in a number of key markets, growing relationships with global asset managers, and increasing our capabilities and scale.

Additionally, the staff from RBC Investor Services will bring their expert knowledge of the servicing needs of international investor clients and distribution services.”

Francis Jackson, CEO of RBC Investor Services, said, “This is an opportunity for our European clients to enjoy the combined scale of RBC Investor Services’ European business and Malaysia centre of excellence and CACEIS’ global footprint, while allowing us to focus on our Canadian asset services franchise in our home market.

Jackson continues: “CACEIS has a track record of growth. This is an important milestone as they strengthen their position as a leading European asset servicer. We are confident this proposed transaction will bring benefits to our clients and our employees.”

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