European banks look to Middle East for asset buyers - FT.com

Banks across Europe are pinning their hopes on Middle East sovereign wealth funds and healthier banks in North America and Asia as the most likely buyers of the mountain of assets they plan to sell over the coming months.

“Beyond Europe there are buyers,” said one eurozone bank boss. “Look at what happened with Dexia.”

Bankers believe that the planned sale of the Luxembourg unit of struggling lender Dexia to Qatari investors, as well as the sale by Belgium’s KBC of its Luxembourg private banking unit to Precision Capital, a Qatari-backed fund, show the way forward.

* username: rupertbu