Citi Private Bank is selling part of its US trust business to privately held wealth management company Reliance Financial Corporation, as part of its strategy to reduce non-core assets.
The Atlanta-based wealth management and financial services company has come to an agreement to acquire 100% of Citigroup Trust-Delaware’s stock, which Citi Private Bank identified as being a non-target business.
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As part of the acquisition, approximately 3000 accounts and $1.7bn in assets under administration will be transferred over to what will become Reliance Trust Company of Delaware.
This portfolio makes up approximately 10% of Citi Trust US’ current portfolio, of which Citi Private Bank clients are not a part of, according to an internal company statement.
A spokesperson for Citi Private Bank told PBI that the bank was not selling off its entire trust business, which "remains a vital part of the [bank]", but simply a portion of Citi personal wealth management (CPWM), in particular, those trusts not linked to a CPWM advisor.
"The portion being sold consists of legacy Smith Barney-sourced accounts from outside the private bank channel. Following the joint venture with Morgan Stanley, Citi Trust continued to service the legacy Smith Barney portfolio under a professional fiduciary services agreement, and that agreement expired as of 1 June 2012", the spokesperson told PBI.
