ISTANBUL, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Turkey's Fibabanka has joinedthe ranks of banks interested in buying HSBC's Turkishunit, two sources close to the matter told Reuters, a businessthat is also being considered by ING Group.
Sources said late in August that HSBC was dragging its feeton the sale to ING as the London-based lender was no longer in ahurry to exit Turkey after securing a hefty $5.2 billion for itsBrazilian unit.
Underscoring that, HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver onMonday said the planned sale would take "a little longer".
"Fibabanka has joined those interested in HSBC Turkey. INGis still among those in the process," said one of the sources,both of whom declined to be identified because the informationis not yet public.
Established by leading Turkish businessman Husnu Ozyegin in1987, the Fiba Group is also involved in real estate, retailing,hotel management and energy. According to its website, Fibabankajoined the Fiba Group in 2011 and has a network of 67 branchesacross Turkey.
ING was one of three banks to submit a non-binding bid inMay, sources previously said. The others were Bahrain's ArabBanking Corp (ABC) and France's BNP Paribas.
Another source familiar with the matter said: "HSBC gave itsworkers the message that operations in Turkey are continuing andthat the Turkish unit should continue its operations with its2016 targets."
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, has around 300 retail branchesand corporate and investment banking operations in Turkey. TheTurkish business lost $64 million last year following a $155million hit at its retail arm after regulatory changes cappedinterest rates on credit cards and overdrafts. (Reporting by Asli Kandemir and Nevzat Devranoglu; Writing byDaren Butler; Editing by David Dolan and Susan Fenton)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)