Swedish lender Nordea Bank AB (STO:NDA-SEK) has mandated Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) to seek buyers for its Polish arm, Nordea Bank Polska SA (WAR:NDA), local daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported, quoting insiders.
BofA has invited Polish lender PKO Bank Polski SA (WAR:PKO), or PKO BP, Unicredit SpA’s (BIT:UCG) Polish unit Bank Pekao SA (PINK:BKPKF) and France’s BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP) to join the race for Nordea Bank Polska. In addition, PKO has appointed Barclays Plc (LON:BARC) to advise it on the process, the sources said.
Nordea spokesman Erik Durhan would not comment on speculation, when approached by Reuters. PKO BP, which last week unveiled a plan to acquire a domestic peer, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Nordea Bank Polska, with a market capitalisation of USD426m (EUR325.7m), is considered to be the country’s twelfth biggest lender by assets. With some 1,900 employees, it serves around 720,000 customers.
