Branch Opening Planned This Year
Natixis, a leading French financial institution, will enter the Korean market, presenting a stark contrast to other Europe-based financial institutions that have left Korea over the past few years.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on May 30, Natixis will appoint Cho Soo-young, a former CEO of RBS Bank, as head of the Seoul branch of Natixis Securities and is preparing to file for approval from the Korean government. The French company is aiming to establish the branch as early as within this year.
Industry sources say that Natixis is considering beginning its operations in Korea as a securities firm and later taking over a Korean asset management company or setting up an asset management joint venture.
Natixis is not well known in Korea but is a member of the BPCE Group, which ranked fourth among French financial groups as of the end of 2016. Although Natixis began as a commercial bank, it has been strengthening IB functions such as corporate finance and leveraged buyout finance for M&As. Worldwide, it manages about one quadrillion won (US$900 billion) in funds.
In Korea, the French company became famous for posing as a white knight when the Hyundai Group pushed for the acquisition of Hyundai E&C in 2010.
"As Natixis entered the domestic market, all of leading French IB firms such as BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole (CA), Amundi and SocieteGenerale (SG) all advanced into the Korean market, as opposed to the departure of other European IB firms, including RBS, Barclays and Allianz, from Korea," an IB industry official said.