Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Group has partnered with a co-operative organization in France to create a transatlantic private banking service.
Paris-based Groupe Crédit Mutuel – CIC’s private banking subsidiary, Banque Transatlantique, will be the French partner in Desjardins Transatlantique – Private Wealth Management. The newly created division will serve Canadian and French high net-worth clients and members. These services include financial services, portfolio management, and those related to business transfers and intergenerational transfers of wealth.
“We created this division so that we could assist Desjardins Private Wealth Management clients who conduct professional or personal business abroad,” says Sylvain Thériault, vice president and general manager of Desjardins Private Wealth Management. “Canadian investors will now have the option of holding management mandates in Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars or euros.”
Desjardins Group suggests the need is there for such a service that’s available in both Canada and France. France’s consulate general in Quebec City reported in 2013 that between 3,000 and 4,000 French citizens take up permanent residency each year in Quebec, the announcement notes.
“This partnership enables us to offer French expatriates in Canada complete assistance,” says David Eap, manager of the Montreal representative office of Banque Transatlantique, in a statement. “We can now offer our clients direct access to North American markets.”
The collaboration between the two organizations began in the 1980s when Groupe Crédit Mutuel – CIC invested in Desjardins’ damage insurance activities. The two organizations also came together in 2013 to create Monetico, an electronic payments service in addition to other ventures.
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