Hugo Lasat has been officially appointed as the new CEO of Degroof Petercam, succeeding Bruno Colmant, who will focus on the private banking activities, thanks to a regulatory green light. With the appointment of Lasat, who led DPAM’s institutional activities for ten years, continuity is assured. The focus is on stronger branding and further internationalisation.
Lasat is a seasoned manager in asset management and financial services, with over thirty years of experience in the highest echelons. “At a certain moment the puzzle falls together and you get the opportunity to put your expertise at the service of the group”, he said.
According to Lasat, Degroof Petercam has a relatively unique business model with four trades that complement and reinforce each other through in-house expertise. In combination with the family shareholding and the comfortable financial position, Degroof Petercam can observe the financial landscape in Belgium and respond to opportunities whenever they arise.
“Many of our competitors are looking at our model with interest,” said Lasat. “The four activities of private banking, investment banking, institutional asset management (DPAM) and finally asset services are supported by the same central services and have clear synergies and interactions. We are in a sweet spot, so to speak, and are sticking to our business model that has been applied in this way since 1871. This will not change. We have built a nice ecosystem that also allows cross-selling.”
Lasat mentioned the example of corporate finance helping an entrepreneur sell a business, after which private banking may manage part of the sale proceeds. In turn, private banking uses the management expertise of DPAM, which relies on asset services for structuring and reporting its investment vehicles.
Consolidation
In a March 2021 podcast with Investment Officer Belgium, Lasat stated that he is convinced that there is still a lot of consolidation to come in the financial landscape. “That will continue, and is obvious. New activities and technologies will emerge, and new ecosystems. Parties can start cooperating with each other structurally or ad hoc. Also, new players will claim their share of the cake, such as insurers who are looking at certain areas in the financial sector with great interest.”
However, Lasat remained critical and certainly not every deal will deliver added value.”Some are driven by scale, and others aim for more external growth. I do know that Degroof Petercam, as an independent player with a decision centre in Brussels and an integrated business model, can look at this movement with the necessary distance and reason. In this respect, we certainly have an edge over companies that are made up of various acquisitions, because after all, there are few European asset managers with family shareholders and a long-term vision that makes sense. With a Core Tier 1 ratio of more than 21 per cent, we also have room for external growth.”
Costs rise
Lasat also mentioned that operational costs are rising in the different areas. “Regulation is definitely a factor in that. The regulatory framework is what it is, you have to live with it. You also have to give the sector a chance to adapt, and the rules have to be applied equally to everyone. I also see wages in the sector rising gradually. There is definitely a war for talent raging in our sector.”
Growth opportunities
Many asset managers and private banks of foreign origin, such as Edmond de Rothschild, have indicated that they would like to focus more on Belgium’s Flemish Dutch-speaking Flanders province.
Lasat argued that Flanders is certainly part of Degroof Petercam’s focus, and that Flanders is one of several logical growth poles, besides Brussels and Wallonia, the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium.
“At DPAM, for example, we are strongly committed to international expansion and diversification, and to the third party business of asset services and the corporate finance activities,” he said. “For example, I think a sustainable value proposition is much more important than a regional activity. Objectively speaking, the growth opportunities in Flanders are obviously very attractive.”
Outside Belgium, Degroof Petercam is growing in Luxembourg and France and, as mentioned, the asset management activities have an international framework, with clients in more than twenty countries.
Branding
Lasat said that he is going to work on a stronger branding. “We have been too modest in this respect, I think. We are going to pay attention to the different business segments and want to become more present. With this, Degroof Petercam also wants to put itself on the map among young talents, who want an employer with sustainable characteristics and a locally anchored decision centre. This also appeals to a more diverse workforce, as we now have 22 nationalities in house, which translates into the further development of the house.”
Degroof Petercam key figures
Total assets of clients (under management, under administration and in custody): EUR 75 billion
Number of employees: 1404