The announcement comes a year after the acquisition of the private bank Insinger de Beaufort, which put it in the top 3 of private banking in the Netherlands.

Lombard Odier NL private banking is based in Amsterdam and employs 12 staff, which will be added to the 325 employees of the Dutch branch of KBL epb, along with €1 billion in activities, subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.

The Luxembourg private banking group has had strong relations with Lombard Odier ever since it went digital.

For Yves Stein, Group CEO of KBL epb, this is his fifth acquisition in three years. He said: This operation, even if it’s not the most important, show our willingness to continue our external growth. Our progress was hampered lately by the complicated move of our IT activities.”

Concentrating on its main markets--Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, the UK and The Netherlands--is also the strategy: “we consider the critical mass to be at €10 billion assets under management in every market and a position in the top three.”