ING and BNP Paribas among bidders for HSBC Turkey: Soruce

ISTANBUL - Reuters

ING Group, BNP Paribas and Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corp (ABC) have submitted bids to buy HSBC’s Turkish business, a source familiar with the process said on May 29.

The source said the bids are non-binding, suggesting that the process could still take some time to complete, but that one-to-one talks have begun.

Four other sources said Dutch lender ING was interested in buying HSBC’s Turkish business, comprising corporate and investment banking operations as well as a loss-making retail arm. Two of the people said ABC was looking to buy the business, though they did not know if bids had been submitted.

Qatar National Bank was also interested but has not submitted a bid, the first source said.

HSBC, ING, BNP and QNB declined comment and ABC could not be reached for immediate comment.

In February HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said that businesses in Turkey, Brazil, Mexico and the United States needed to improve or be sold.

The bank has started auctions to sell operations in Turkey and Brazil and is expected to restructure in Mexico and the United States, sources have said.

HSBC had $8.6 billion of loans in Turkey at the end of 2014, but it does not disclose their book value, which is the value at which assets are carried on the balance sheet. The business could be sold at about book value, meaning HSBC would not see a gain or loss on the sale, sources said. One said the price would depend on the structure of the deal, such as whether HSBC provides financing.