BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in South America, said it acquired Luxembourg-based private bank FIS Privatbank in a move that should enable its Latin American clients to diversify their investment portfolios in developed countries while expanding its European client base beyond Portugal, Spain and the UK.
BTG has paid 21.3 million euro for FIS, according to Latinfinance.com.
“Operating a bank in Luxembourg will enable us to serve all our clients› needs in the region, fostering the activities of our European offices in Portugal, Spain (which is currently under regulatory approval), and the UK,” said Roberto Sallouti, CEO of BTG Pactual, in a statement.
Growing Latin America-Luxembourg links
The acquisition demonstrates that Latin America is becoming increasingly important for Luxembourg. The Association of Luxembourg Fund Industry, Alfi, last month completed a roadshow in Brazil aiming to make Latin investors more interested in Luxembourg-based services. And a Luxembourg conference last week discussed the appeal of European Long Term Investment Funds, a new type of private equity product known as Eltifs, for investors in South America and elsewhere.
FIS Privatbank is fully owned by Austrian entrepreneur Alexander Schütz (photo), who also manages the Vienna-based Schütz Family Office. He bought FIS in 2020 from Sparkasse Bremen. At the end of 2022, FIS managed about 500 million euro on behalf of more than 300 clients.
BTG, headquartered in Sao Paolo, Brazil and created in 1983, has roughly 1.300 billion Brazilian real (231 billion euro) in assets under management, it said.The firm operates in the investment banking, corporate lending, sales and trading, wealth management and asset management markets.
‘Perfect fit’
“BTG Pactual is the perfect fit for FIS Privatbank as it is fully aligned to our ambition,” said Schutz. “We are convinced that our clients will be in the position to improve their banking relationship with FIS Privatbank due to a broader offering of global products and services from an experienced global player like BTG Pactual.”
“We will offer a full suite of products and services to our European client base and to Latin Americans aiming to diversify their investment portfolios in developed countries,” said Sallouti. “Being in Luxembourg will be a key element to bolster those activities, attract new clients and serve them with the same dedication that we do in our home markets.”
The transaction involving BTG Pactual, Alexander Schütz and FIS Privatbank is subject to regulatory approval.
BTG Pactual currently employs more than 6.000 people in offices across Brasil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, United States, Portugal and the UK. BTG Pactual manages more than 240.0 billion dollars in assets for clients worldwide, with an equity of 8.0 billion, total assets of 86.0 billion and a market cap of 14.1 billion.
Schütz, a former board member at Deutsche Bank, cofounded CQ Investment Group in 1991, an asset management company currently managing 8 billion euro and active in 21 countries, as well as Aethos Hotel Group in 2018.
FIS Privatbank is a fully licensed private bank in Luxembourg with a CET1 equity ratio of about 35 percent and liquidity coverage ratio, LCR, of more than 160 percent. FIS Privatbank is providing its clients a safe and stable banking partner for wealth management, asset management and financing. Its subsidiary Inter-Portfolio offers tailor-made solutions for the management of UCITS investment funds.