Laurentian Bank to sell US$1.5 billion in wealth-management assets

Laurentian Bank of Canada struck a deal to sell $2 billion (US$1.5 billion) of assets under administration to a subsidiary of iA Financial Group in a bid to further simplify its business after a tumultuous year.

Net proceeds from the transaction, which is expected to close in the summer, “are not expected to be material,” the Montreal-based bank said in a statement Thursday. 

Under the deal, Laurentian Bank’s retail investment-broker division will transfer about 16,000 client accounts to iA Private Wealth Inc., iA Financial said in a separate statement. About 30 financial advisers are also invited to join the iA Private Wealth division. 

Quebec City-based iA Financial is one of Canada’s biggest insurance and wealth-management companies.