Ausbil Dexia does not expect its majority shareholder, Dexia Group, to sell down its 70 per cent interest in the firm, after the Belgian financial group reconfirmed its commitment to investment management.
"They have reconfirmed that they are committed to investment management. And they certainly do like our business very much," Ausbil Dexia chief executive Paul Xiradis said.
Dexia holds a 70 per cent interest in the firm through its division, Dexia Asset Management, while the rest is held by key staff in the firm.
Dexia Group was hit hard during the financial crisis, partly because of its exposure to sub-investment-grade debt in the United States through its bond insurance unit, FSA.
As a result, Dexia received financial support from the Belgian government and has been restructuring its business, selling off a number of units including a majority shareholding in FSA.
Concerns were raised over Dexia's ownership stake in Ausbil, after the Belgian group sold its underlying lending operations in Australia.
But Xiradis said he had no indication that Ausbil Dexia's ownership was under review.
"I'm not expecting any change in a hurry," he said.
"But things are always fluid and if there was to be a change, then I believe local management could address that fairly quickly.
"Local management and the other owners are very pleased with the business and I'm sure that if the opportunity arose for local management to acquire a greater holding, they would do so. But no-one is a forced seller and no-one is a forced buyer."
The pressure on Dexia Group to make further divestments also decreased after the stress test conducted on European banks at the end of July found Dexia would be able to withstand further shocks to the financial system.
This prompted Belgian financial regulator CBFA to issue a statement declaring Dexia would not have to take further measures to boost its capital position.
