The ING Group based in the Netherlands is likely to win the auction for the sale of HSBC’s unprofitable Turkish business.
Though a deal is yet to be finalized, Reuters quoted unnamed sources as saying that the bank had zeroed in on one out of the three bidders for the sale.
The other two bidders were Paris-based BNP Paribas and Bahrain-based Arab Banking.
It is being speculated that the unit that made a loss of TRY32.1m ($11.9m) in the first quarter might be valued at around $500m.
HSBC had said in its 9 June announcement that it intends to sell off its units in Turkey and Brazil as a part of its restructuring process. It also plans to slash 50,000 jobs. The bank had lost $64m in Turkey last year.
While it is said the Qatar National Bank (QNB) had also expressed interest in the bank, Reuters quoted sources as saying that both QNB and Arab Banking did not go ahead as they were more interested in buying at least part of Finansbank, the Turkish unit of the National Bank of Greece.
A QNB spokesman was quoted as saying: "QNB always said it is interested to enter the Turkish market. Once the right opportunity is identified, QNB will look at it to ensure it fits with the Group’s international expansion strategy. As of today, QNB is not part of any discussions in regard to opportunities in the Turkish market."
ING already has a presence in Turkey. Its existing Turkish bank has assets worth $16bn.
Image: HSBC is planning to sell its Turkish and Brazil units. Photo: courtesy of stockimages/ freedigitalphotos.net.