The European and Swiss financial regulatory bodies, ECB and FINMA, have approved the private banking and wealth management partnership between Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, the private banking division of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and REYL & Cie, a diversified banking group headquartered in Geneva.

The legal merger of REYL & Cie and ISPBM is expected to be finalised by the end of 2021 after which the parties will release a new logo combining their respective brands, REYL & Cie revealed in a statement on 31 May.

The partnership enables Milan-based Fideuram - ISPB to strengthen significantly its international wealth management activities and to continue playing a leading role in the ongoing consolidation of the Swiss financial sector, it said.

It confirmed its choice of Switzerland as the main hub for its international private banking activities.

Following the closing of the transaction, REYL & Cie will retain its Geneva headquarters and grow its international banking group to around 400 employees, AUM approaching CHF 25bn (€23bn) and regulatory shareholders' equity of about CHF 210m (€190m).

Fideuram - ISPB will control 69% of REYL & Cie's capital, while partners François Reyl, Pasha Bakhtiar, Nicolas Duchêne, Thomas Fontaine, Christian Fringhian and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula will collectively retain a 31% stake.

Tommaso Corcos, CEO of Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, said: "The deal with REYL - reaffirms our international growth strategy by consolidating one of the best private banks in the Eurozone and by having Switzerland as the base of our network abroad.

"The combination of skills, experience, innovation capabilities and a common culture of customer service, constitutes the cornerstones on which to build a new leading international bank, serving our most demanding clients.

"To accelerate business synergies between the companies, Nicolas Duchêne, deputy CEO and Partner of REYL, will also take the role of General Manager of Intesa Sanpaolo Private Bank Suisse Morval, on an interim basis, until the companies' legal merger."

François Reyl, CEO of REYL & Cie, said "The closing of the transaction marks a new chapter in REYL's corporate history that will open a realm of new development possibilities for both parties.

We are convinced that Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking's quality and financial power associated with REYL's entrepreneurial spirit and innovation capability will create the perfect conditions to achieve success in the current environment.

"We look forward to forming lasting bonds with our new colleagues and working as one team, building together a leading international private banking group and reinforcing our value proposition for the benefit of our clients."