Qatar’s QNB, Bahrain’s ABC ‘looking at Turkey’s Finansbank’

ISTANBUL-Reuters

Qatar National Bank and Bahrain’s Arab Bank Corp did not follow up early interest in acquiring HSBC’s Turkish business because they are more interested in National Bank of Greece’s Turkish arm Finansbank, two people familiar with the matter said.

Dutch lender ING Group is set to win the auction to buy HSBC’s business, after being one of several banks to submit a non-binding bid in May.

Arab Bank Corp (ABC) was one of the original bidders while Qatar National Bank (QNB) also showed some early interest, Reuters previously reported.

However, two sources told Reuters on July 2 that both QNB and ABC dropped out because they became interested in potentially acquiring at least part of Finansbank, the Turkish unit of National Bank of Greece.

“We continue to explore the market for the sale of a minority stake in Finansbank, a 34 percent stake,” an NBG official said, without giving more details.