CACEIS signed a memorandum of understanding with Royal Bank of Canada under which CACEIS will acquire the European asset servicing business of RBC Investor Services and its associated Malaysian operational center.
The transaction will include custody, global custody FX, fund administration, transfer agency, middle office and securities lending, according to a Monday news release.
The purchase price was not disclosed, said a spokesman for CACEIS by email.
The proposed transaction excludes RBC Investor Services’ Canadian operations, the release stated.
CACEIS is the asset servicing banking group of Crédit Agricole S.A. and Santander Bank, serving asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, banks, private equity and real estate funds, brokers and corporate clients.
The CACEIS spokesman noted that CACEIS is 69.5%-owned by Crédit Agricole and 30.5%-owned by Santander.
The spokesman also said that the “Malaysian center of excellence” is “an operational center to better serve our clients, especially (English-speaking clients in U.S. and U.K.).”
RBC Investor Services, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, provides asset services and held assets under administration in Europe of about €1.2 trillion ($1.34 trillion) and assets under custody in Europe of around €0.5 trillion as of March 31, the release noted.
The combined entity of RBC Investor Services and CACEIS would have around €4.8 trillion in assets under custody and €3.5 trillion in assets under administration, the release added.
The integration of 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,” the release stated.
Subject to, among other things, regulatory and antitrust approvals, the proposed transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2023.
