The Dexia Group subsidiary Dexia Banque Internationale Luxembourg (Dexia BIL) has acquired a controlling interest in N.T. Butterfield Holdings (Bermuda) Limited from The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, Bermuda.
The businesses acquired include Butterfield Trust (Hong Kong) Limited -which specialises in administration and custody for mutual funds, pension funds and trusts – and Butterfield Corporate Services (Hong Kong) Limited, which specialises in corporate management services and registrar/transfer agency services to unit trusts and mutual funds.
Dexia BIL plans to transfer these businesses to its own Hong Kong Branch as soon as the latter has received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Bank of Butterfield first established its presence in Hong Kong in 1986, and currently has assets under administration of over USD 3 billion, with a particularly strong position as a trustee and administrator to pension and investment funds in Hong Kong.
Dexia Fund Services, which already has operations in Brussels, Dublin, Grand Cayman, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich as well as Luxembourg, is looking to expand the international reach of its wealth management and private banking businesses. In Asia, Dexia currently has a business only in Singapore, via Dexia Trust Services.
The Agreement to buy Bank of Butterfield was finalised on 6 June 2002. A change of name to reflect the Dexia interest will shortly be announced. However, there will be no change to the current management structure and personnel.
The goal is to combine the resources of Dexia BIL with the existing operations to enhance service to a growing international client base and to capture a bigger share of the Pension and Fund Administration market in Hong Kong.