KBC comments on its future plans for Banco Urquijo

As a result, KBC Group undertook a strategic review of a number of businesses, including private banking.

Banco Urquijo (part of the KBL European Private Bankers Network) was among the businesses reviewed, and the conclusions of this review indicated that closer integration between Banco Urquijo and KBC Bank would create substantially more added value than keeping it under KBL. The rationale is that Banco Urquijo's retail, corporate and network private banking business model fits much better with KBC Bank's model than with KBL's, whose business is focused exclusively on private banking.
 
KBC is currently drawing up the business plan for the integration of Banco Urquijo within KBC Bank and has already identified significant revenue and cost synergies.
 
At the same time, over the last few months, KBC has received several spontaneous expressions of interests from different parties concerning Banco Urquijo, clearly reflecting the attractiveness and the value of the franchise. KBC will therefore also simultaneously evaluate the option to sell while continuing to plan Banco Urquijo's integration within KBC Bank.
 
In order to evaluate the added value of a new partner for Banco Urquijo, KBC has called in JP Morgan. KBC will in due course decide which option (integration within KBC Bank / sale) will create the most added value for Banco Urquijo's stakeholders.