The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is selling its Swiss private banking business to the family-owned bank and asset manager SYZ Group.

On July 14, RBC announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell Royal Bank of Canada (Suisse) SA to Geneva-based SYZ Group for an undisclosed amount. RBC Suisse provides private banking and wealth management services to high net worth clients globally. The bank had approximately CHF10 billion in total assets under management as at October 31, 2014.

In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, SYZ's managing director Eric Syz said that the acquisition will give his firm access to new, complementary markets in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. He noted that RBC Suisse's teams have been in these markets for more than 20 years and have an excellent level of expertise. "This purchase is in keeping with the new business model that must guide the Swiss financial space from now on," he explained. "It is a model that is based on know-how and not on banking secrecy."