LORD Peter Levene, chairman of NBNK, said yesterday he is not pursuing UK assets other than Lloyds Banking Group, signalling the start-up bank has lost interest in Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank.
Lord Levene said that NBNK’s lack of banking infrastructure is not an obstacle to its purchase of more than 600 branches, including the whole of Lloyds TSB Scotland, being auctioned by the part-nationalised Lloyds.
He said: “We have got a team there that will put one together, that is what we are there for.
“In some ways starting again from scratch, and there is plenty of intelligence on how to do that, may be a better a solution.”
NBNK’s shares were suspended last week after it confirmed it is in acquisition talks.
It is understood that the bank has been in preliminary talks with Clydesdale’s owner National Australia Bank, over the purchase of the bank, which owns Yorkshire Bank south of the border.
Lord Levene said Aim-listed NBNK, which has former Scottish Secretary Lord Michael Forsyth on its board, had no strategic target other than the Lloyds branches which would hand it upwards of 4.6% of the current account market.
“That sort of thing does not turn up every day. In fact it has probably never happened before and it may never happen again. So, that is a very big opportunity,” he said. NAB has long said it is focused on organic growth in the UK but would look at other options.
It is understood to have cast an eye on the Lloyds portfolio itself but NBNK’s key rivals are now thought to be private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, and mutually-owned lender the Co-operative.
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