Dexia confirms plans to sell European SRI pioneer Dexia Asset Management

Dexia Asset Management, one of the pioneers of socially responsible investing (SRI) in Europe, is to be sold by its parent, the bailed out Franco-Belgian banking group Dexia.

Dexia said in a statement that the board has launched “an open and competitive procedure” to dispose of Dexia AM, which has some €18bn of SRI funds under management.

Dexia AM is a founding signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and created its first SRI fund in 1996.

Parent Dexia will also look into selling its 50% stake in custody business RBC Dexia Investor Services and its 99.84% stake in Turkey-based DenizBank.Dexia Chief Executive Pierre Mariani was quoted by Les Echos as saying in interview that purchasers will be chosen by the end of the year, according to a Bloomberg report.
The statements emerged after a board meeting today at which Dexia completed agreements to sell its Belgian banking arm and French municipal-lending division to state-owned companies. It follows a period of uncertainty about the fate of the funds arm amid the wider fate of the stricken group.
Earlier this month, Dexia AM CEO Naim Abou-Jaoudé sought to reassure clients that it was “business as usual” and that assets were “fully segregated and protected”.
Dexia said it would go ahead with its third-quarter results statement on November 9 as planned.