- Stocks in 'Tug of War' In Sluggish Economy: El-Erian
- White House: 650,000 Jobs Created, Saved by Stimulus
- Defaults by Small, Medium Size Firms Up in September
- Senate Vote on Housing Tax Credit Likely Next Week
- Is Your Boss a Witch or the Grim Reaper?
- Slideshow: Biggest Executive Bonuses of Past Decade
- GE, Comcast Could Complete NBC Deal in Two Weeks
- Ex-Madoff Accountant to Plead Guilty Next Week
- One in 4 People Glad the Economy Slumped: Survey
- Busch: How The Treasury Can Sell So Much Debt For So Little For Now
- A Tale of Two Smart Phone Makers
- Tony Fratto: White House Counts Jobs, But Not What Counts
- 'Lords Of Finance' Wins Prestigious FT And Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award
- The Relationship of Commodities and the Dollar
- October End Preview: Winners & Losers
- Intel Sees Heavy Upside Options Action
- Two Years of Earnings Increases Ahead: Chief Investor
- Barbie's Sugar Daddy?
MOST SHARED
- Quiz: Think You Understand Markets? Prove It
- Dow Jumps 2%, Its Best Day Since July
- Recovery On: GDP Jumps, Jobless Claims Move Lower
- Durable Goods Orders Rise in Line With Expectations
- Countries Overloaded With Debt
- Sign of Recovery: Employers Are Resuming 401(k) Matches
- Roginsky: The Lieberman Opt-Out
- Cramer’s Top 10 Natural Gas Stocks
- Senate May Vote on Extending Tax Credit for Home Buyers
Text Size 
OCBC, Singapore's third-biggest bank, confirmed it has agreed to buy ING's [ING
Loading...
()
]private banking unit in Asia for $1.46 billion, a surprise outcome in a complex, drawn-out auction.
 |
OCBC competed against HSBC [HBC
Loading...
()
] and fellow Singapore bank DBS for the asset.
OCBC's shares were suspended ahead of the announcement.
It was advised by Goldman Sachs [GS
Loading...
()
], sources
said.
DBS, which was also shortlisted in the final bidding process, dropped out of the race a few weeks ago, a source said.
The deal could be transformational for OCBC, whose private bank is smaller than similar units of Singapore's two other listed banks and in 2006 lost a third of its bankers to foreign rivals.
The sale of the Asian private bank network is the third major asset disposal for ING in less than a month and the second in the Asia Pacific region.
On Sept. 25, it sold its stake in a wealth management joint venture in Australia and New Zealand to partner ANZ for 1.1 billion euros.
On Oct. 7, it struck a deal to sell its Swiss private banking unit to Julius Baer for 344 million euros. While the ANZ deal was a surprise, the sale to Baer had been rumoured for months.
ING is in the midst of raising 6 billion euros to 8 billion euros through asset sales under a restructuring program it announced in April. It plans to ultimately exit 10 of the 48 countries where it does business.
The restructuring follows 10 billion euros in state aid ING received in Oct. 2008 and a 22 billion euro asset guarantee it received from the Dutch state in Jan. 2009.
Both its restructuring plan and the asset guarantee are under review by the European Commission, though the asset guarantee in particular has received a frosty reception.
On Sept.15, the EU extended its review of the facility, saying it appeared the Dutch state may have paid too much for the assets and ING might have gotten an unfair deal.
That review is expected to be completed by the end of this year, European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told the Dutch parliament on Oct. 13.
Analysts' worst-case scenarios envision a hit to ING of up to one billion euros if the portfolio is repriced -- enough to potentially push its core Tier I capital ratio below 7 percent.
The asset sale program is seen as one potential way to offset a capital hit, though analysts have been unhappy with the sales thus far. In particular, they have found fault with both the prices paid and the fact that ING is selling assets in a still-depressed market.
- Where, what and how.
- Here are the ten most popular (children and adult).
- Private technology and government policy are creating rapid change.
- The most anticipated movie of the year could be James Cameron's "Avatar," billed as the greatest 3D tech film ever produced.
- The UK's capital celebrates 25 years of British Fashion at a 16th century palace.
- A letter in the home office gets misplaced, and soon a judge orders Pepsi to pay a fortune to two claimants.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes