Family-owned bank continues international acquisitions with Bahamas buy

Family-owned Banque Havilland has extended its international network to the Bahamas with the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Pasche Bank & Trust Limited in Nassau, Bahamas, the latest in a series of international deals.

The acquisition of the Bahamas business follows the purchase of a majority stake in Banque Pasche's Liechtenstein private banking business on 6 October this year. In November 2013, Banque Havilland  bought Banque Pasche's Monaco business.

Banque Havilland chief executive Jean-François Willems said its ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients were global citizens with complex investment and wealth management requirements who needed a financial partner that could support them on an international basis.

“Through this [Bahamas] transaction, not only are we expanding our geographic reach but also strengthening our access to the strategic growth markets of Latin America and the Middle East,” he said. 

The Luxembourg-based private bank was established by the Rowland family in 2009 in response to the financial crisis, when the family patriarch David Rowland became concerned about the safety of the family's assets.

The bank is family-owned and managed with Rowland serving as honorary president and next gen Venetia Lean, a member of the board of directors.

Banque Havilland clients are also invited to co-invest with the family. This can take the form of sharing the family's recent investment strategies with a client, or a direct collaboration on a private equity venture. 

This can be an attractive feature to UHNW clients, as globally four-fifths of family offices collaborate with one another on investments, according to the 2014 Global Family Office Report.

The bank reported operating income of €17.4 million in 2013 and does not disclose its assets under management.