Banking News
- No plans for stakes in U.K. banks: ICBC
Date: 3-Dec-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
INDUSTRIAL & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) isn't planning to buy a stake in U.K. mortgage bank Northern Rock or Standard Chartered, ICBC president Yang Kaisheng said Thursday.
However, the head of China's largest bank by assets said ICBC would consider further overseas acquisitions if suitable opportunities arise. Northern Rock is trying to sell itself since nearly collapsing in the midst of this summer's global credit crisis. It had to be bailed out by the Bank of England. The Financial Times reported earlier this month, without citing sources, that Northern Rock is thought to have contacted Asian banks, such as ICBC and Bank of China Ltd. in its search for a buyer. Yang also said on the sidelines of a financial conference in Beijing that ICBC isn't in talks with other parties to buy a stake in London-based Standard Chartered. The Financial Times reported earlier this month that ICBC, along with Bank of China and China Construction Bank Corp., had approached Singapore's Temasek Holdings about acquiring its 17 percent stake in Standard Chartered.
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