Crédit Agricole and Santander announced that they have completed the previously announced merger of CACEIS and Santander Securities Services (S3).
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in April about the merger, where CACEIS will own 100% of S3 Spain and 49.99% of its operations in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Colombia) will be owned by CACEIS.
As a result, Crédit Agricole and Santander will now hold 69.5% and 30.5% in CACEIS, respectively.
All the conditions precedent and all board, shareholder and regulatory approvals have been secured to move forward with the merger, the two companies stated.
The combined entity will retain the name CACEIS
The deal has merged two strong players in custody and asset services in Europe and around the world, with €3.9 trillion in assets under custody and €2.1 trillion in asset under administration.
The combined entity will retain the name CACEIS. It is expected to benefit from the creation of value in terms of commercial synergies and growth prospects.
It could also benefit from the improved geographical presence, the full coverage of asset servicing value chain and expanded offering to support existing and new clients.
The new entity is also expected to be able to capture growth through new opportunities across high potential markets such as Latin America and Asia.
Crédit Agricole CEO Philippe Brassac said: “By joining forces in the asset servicing business, Crédit Agricole and Santander are giving a strong signal to their clients and to the market. Leveraging our strong industrial partnership model, and developing the business sustainably, we are creating a major player in custody and asset servicing that will benefit from enhanced growth prospects.”
Jean-François Abadie has been appointed as CACEIS CEO, while the S3’s current general manager Carlos Rodriguez de Robles will lead the Spanish and Latin American activities and will report to Jean-François Abadie.
Santander executive chairman Ana Botín said: “By combining the strengths of Crédit Agricole and Santander in custody and asset servicing we are creating a platform that can leverage our complimentary footprints and collective scale, with combined assets under custody of €3.9 trillion. Together we are stronger and can offer clients a better and truly global service proposition.”
