Delta Lloyd is planning to sell its banking activities in Belgium, which include the distribution of third-party structured products for retail investors.
In a statement, the Dutch insurance group said that the possible sale of Delta Lloyd Bank would increase the focus on insurances and release capital to invest in strategic activities.
Delta Lloyd Bank has been distributing structured products in Belgium since 1998 and is also a distribution channel for life insurance and pension products from Delta Lloyd Life.
Delta Lloyd said that a potential sale would not affect its distribution powers in Belgium. "A long-term distribution agreement between Delta Lloyd Life and Delta Lloyd Bank will be part of this transaction," it said.
The 34 structured products (worth an estimated €1.2bn) which are still live on SRP's Belgian database are issued mainly via Société Générale, although recently the bank has used Codeis Securities - a special purpose vehicle - to issue its products. It is understood that the existing range of products will be serviced by the acquiring party.
Delta Lloyd Bank is the latest Belgian bank to be put on the market. In the past two years, a number of such acquisitions have taken place in Belgium including Citibank Belgium being acquired by Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe (CMNE) before changing its name to Beobank; Crelan, formerly Centea, being sold by KBC to Credit Agricole; while Dexia announced last week it had reached an agreement with New York Life Investments for the sale of its fund management division, Dexia Asset Management.