Solving International acquires Synagir, a French banking, insurance and financial services consulting firm

Synagir has offices in France and Switzerland with a turnover of 10 million euros and a staff of 70 consultants. The acquisition by Solving International will give Synagir access to global financial markets including that of the UAE and the Middle East, through the Solving International Middle East offices based in the UAE. "The integration of Synagir with Solving International Group will enhance our international development strategy" said Thomas de Bellaigue, Managing Partner of Synagir.

This is the first acquisition by Solving International of this scale since it acquired EFESO in 2000, a specialist in world class manufacturing and industrial processes and a leader in the global manufacturing consultancy industry, based in the UK.

The Synagir purchase will reinforce Solving International's position as a leader in the banking and insurance sectors with service offerings in private and retail banking, asset management and capital markets. The Top 10 banks globally have a tier 1 capitalization of more than $529 billion, the top 10 private banking firms manage assets of well over $4 trillion and the top 10 countries have underwritten insurance premiums of more than $1.5 trillion.

With presence in more than 20 countries around the world, including a base in the UAE for the Middle East, Solving International is geared to help the budding financial service sector in the region. "The Middle East is a strategic focus for us, as we believe this region, and more particularly the GCC countries, like the UAE, are not only geo-strategic hubs, but are developing into major financial platforms," adds Jean Veillon, Chairman of Solving International Group.

The market for these services in the UAE alone is staggering, and this phenomenon is not unique to this country in the region, albeit it is the first mover imprinting dramatic impacts with global ramifications.

"The UAE Financial Service sector has been under going major expansion and development in the last few years, with assets under management in the banking sector nearing almost AED 715 billion, a 40% growth since 2004, and insurance premiums under-written jumping 28% in 2005 alone to almost AED7.5 billion. These figures and the general publics' trust in this industry underpin the importance for financial service companies to develop world class strategies and management to help foster a culture of prudence and risk management as they consolidate and strengthen the basis for their double digit growth," adds Ziad Al Askari, partner at Solving International Middle East.

Solving International through its new acquisition provides advisory services to some of the world's major banking and financial institutions. Its portfolio includes Barclays, Allianz Group, UBS, HSBC and ABN Amro among other global players.

"DIFC and the Qatar Financial Center are building a basis for the new "Singapore" of the Middle East. Their Challenge however is to find the right ingredients for building an efficient regulatory structure, that is dynamic and capable of adapting the legal new requirements for modern financial institutions. We have developed an in-depth expertise and understanding of the Key factors for success over the last 15 years, working under the major European financial Marketplaces such as in the UK, France, the CSSF in Luxembourg, ABS in Switzerland, and Euroclear which is currently operating the Dubai Financial Market, thus improving operational performance and implementing best practices," concludes Thomas de Bellaigue.