Laurentian Bank, which spent last summer looking for new owners, finally found a buyer for its brokerage services to individuals, with iA Financial Group acquiring it on Thursday.
Canada's largest group of insurance and wealth management companies announced late Thursday that it has reached an agreement to transfer 16,000 customer accounts from Laurentian Bank to its subsidiary iA Management Private Heritage Inc. (iAGPP).
Retail brokerage services of Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. Represents assets under management in excess of $2 billion.
After the transaction closes, approximately thirty advisors will be invited to join iAGPP, the company said in a press release.
“This acquisition will support iA Private Wealth Management's strong growth and expand its presence,” said Stephane Bourbonnais, executive vice president of wealth management at iA Financial Group and president and CEO of iAGPP. We look forward to welcoming these new advisors and helping them secure their clients' financial futures with confidence. »
The transaction, the amount of which was not disclosed Thursday, should close this summer, depending, among other things, on obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, it said. This will have only a “marginal” impact on its solvency ratio, notes iA Financial Group.
Strategic review
Laurentian is the seventh largest bank in the country by assets It announced last summer that it was considering its “strategic options”, but sources close to the matter confirmed that a sale was one of the avenues being considered.
Laurentian has received buyout offers as part of this review, including at least one for the entire bank. However, the value of proposals received may not be considered beneficial to shareholders.
Then, in September, the bank's management announced that it had completed its strategic review exercise and concluded that the best way to maximize value for its shareholders was to accelerate the evolution of its strategic plan.
iA Financial Group, also known as Industrial Alliance, is one of Canada's largest group of insurance and wealth management companies. It also maintains operations in the United States. Established in 1892, the company is one of the largest public companies in the country.
Notably, it maintains a network of more than 460 independent investment advisors managing $50 billion in assets under management.
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