Foreign banks in Asia face dearth of targets

Lenders eager to expand through asset acquisition in Asia but has difficulty finding one.

Foreign private banks operating in the booming Asian market cannot find assets to expand through acquisition and face a critical shortage of experienced staff, according to senior regional executives.

Private banks in Singapore and Hong Kong told the Financial Times that they were keen to acquire market share but unable to identify potential targets.

Private banking executives also fear that any assets that become available will be prohibitively expensive, in light of the large premium paid in October in the sector's last landmark deal.

Singapore's Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation outbid HSBC and paid $1.5bn for the Asian private banking assets of ING Group.

The price was equivalent to 5.8 percent of the unit's assets under management, after adjusting for surplus capital. Julius Baer, the Swiss bank, paid just 2.3 percent for ING's Swiss assets.

Didier von Daeniken, chief executive of Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific, said: "We continue to look around because we have a duty to look at what is on the market, but I would have a hard time coming up with any names. There is nothing for sale."

View the full story in Financial Times.