Company briefs
Clearstream to tailor processing services
Clearstream has come up with a new service aimed at solving the order processing problems of Europe’s funds industry. Clearstream has upgraded its existing Vestima service to offer tailor-made services to meet the needs of differing domestic markets. Bruno Zutterling, director of investment funds, Clearstream, said the service would enable fund distributors to select where they wished to settle and whether or not to use Clearstream’s centralised settlement and custody services. The service will be launched first in France and Germany this summer.
Prudential cooking up plan to sell 79% stake in Egg
Prudential has confirmed it is in discussions to sell its online bank Egg. The UK life assurer is not the first to exit internet banking. It follows Deutche Bank, which shut down its DB24 service, and the joint online venture between Merrill Lynch and HSBC, which also folded. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is believed to be the top contender to buy Prudential’s 79 per cent stake in Egg. The Web-based bank has 3m customers and a strong brand. RBS is looking for acquisitions and has a policy of maintaining the brand identities of the businesses it buys.
Fortis distribution team plans Amsterdam move
Fortis Investment Management is poised to move its distribution team for the Netherlands, headed by Mark te Riele, from Utrecht to Amsterdam. The move flagged internally by the Fortis Board in November last year, is provisionally scheduled for April or May 2004. The team currently targets private banks such as MeesPierson, market leader among high net worth clients in the Netherlands, external retail banking networks such as ABN Amro, one of the first retail groups to offer external funds, and the Fortis group’s own branch network.
