Spanish Bank to Buy Lloyds’ Private Banking Group in Miami

Banco Sabadell in Spain has agreed to buy Lloyds Banking Group's international private banking business in Miami.

In a separate transaction, the U.K. bank will sell the rest of its international private banking unit, based in Europe and South America, to Union Bancaire Privée of Switzerland.

In the Miami deal, Sabadell will pay Lloyds an initial price of $6 million. Sabadell will pay additional considerations, based on how much of the assets transferred from Lloyds are still managed by Sabadell after a year. The final price could reach $12 million.

Sabadell will obtain about $1.2 billion of managed assets and about $60 million in loans. Sabadell's international private banking business in Miami will increase its assets under management to about $5 billion after the deal closes. Sabadell United Bank, its retail bank in Florida, has $3.6 billion in assets.

Lloyds' sale comes amid heightened interest in the Miami area, especially by Latin American companies. Chile's Banco de Credito e Inversiones last week agreed to buy City National Bank of Florida, based in Miami, from Spain's Bankia for $883 million.