Quintet Private Bank is planning to merge its European subsidiaries into one business unit based in Luxembourg. Approval has been requested from local supervisory authorities.
Subsidiaries such as Puilaetco in Belgium, Merck Fink in Germany and InsingerGilissen in the Netherlands will be merged with Quintet Luxembourg and Puilaetco Luxembourg as one bank. This means that the subsidiaries will cease to exist as independent banks and will also give up their separate banking license. However, they will keep their original names. Quintet aims to formally implement the new organisational structure early next year.
Quintet Switzerland and Brown Shipley, a subsidiary of Quintet in the UK, will formally retain the status of independent subsidiaries of Quintet Private Bank as these two branches are located outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
The bank’s strategy remains the responsibility of Quintet’s Authorised Management Committee, headed by CEO Jakob Stott (pictured). The new, simplified structure is supposed to shorten the lines of communication, speeding up decision-making and service provision.
European passporting
Local service levels will be unaffected thanks to European passporting. This means that if a company with a headquarters in one of the EEA countries, which consists of Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland in addition to the member states of the European Union, it can also be active in other EEA countries. In that case, the supervisor in the country where a company’s (regional) headquarters are located will also carry out the assessment of the branches in other countries. Only a formal registration with local supervisors is then needed.
Quintet Private Bank, which is led by former UBS bankers, has long focused on achieving synergy benefits between the parent company and its boutiques established in various European countries. For example, the investment policy, and in particular the asset allocation and portfolio constructions, are increasingly the responsibility of Quintet S.A. headquarters in Luxembourg.