Singapore's DBS among banks in bid to buy Barclays' Asian wealth unit

Barclays managed $36 billion in private banking assets in Asia while DBS manage twice as much at $73.2 billion

Singapore's DBS Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp OCBC), along with Swiss bank Julius Baer, have submitted a non-binding bid for acquiring Barclays' Asian private wealth business, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The British bank has been exploring options to sell its Singapore-based wealth unit over the last year.

Barclays' Asian private wealth business is valued at S$600 million. The unit has offices in Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore.

As per Barclays' website, the global revenue from its wealth management business dropped 17 per cent to S$460 million in the third quarter of the last year compared with the previous year.

The Asian wealth management unit's sale plan comes even as major European banks are re-aligning their strategy in Asia due cost pressure s back home.

Earlier Reuters had reported, citing sources, that Credit Suisse was also considering a bid for Barclays' wealth unit.

According to the database of Private Banker International, Barclays managed $36 billion in private banking assets in Asia while DBS manage twice as much at $73.2 billion.

All banks involved in the talks declined to comment.

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