Credit Suisse To Sell DLJ Real Estate Unit (CS)

Credit Suisse Group CS Monday said it is in talks to spin off part of its property business, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, to management. The Zurich-based bank disclosed neither the size of the fund nor the sales price of the deal, which was first reported by Property Week. Credit Suisse's overall real estate investment arm, part of an asset management unit, manages roughly $33.5 billion in property assets. Within that, the DLJ unit manages a series of global opportunistic real estate investment funds, according to the bank's website. The spin-off comes as investment banks weigh the future of some of their real estate activities. New regulations that would follow the passage of financial-services legislation in the U.S. are likely to force investment banks to cut their own investments in real-estate funds and some other portfolios they manage. A spokesman for Credit Suisse said the move was taken and communicated several months ago, and isn't related to recent changes in U.S. bank regulation. "This move is in line with our strategy to sticking to our core, scalable businesses," Credit Suisse said in a statement.