HSBC Holdings Plc is nearing a sale of its Brazilian unit to Banco Bradesco SA for close to $4 billion, FT reported, citing people familiar with the talks. HSBC may announce the deal when it reports results on Monday, the FT report said. (http://on.ft.com/1Mzf8gC)
Reuters recently reported that Bradesco, Brazil's No 2 private-sector bank, was in exclusive talks to acquire HSBC Bank Brasil Banco M?ltiplo, as the unit is formally known, for a deal that would value the unit at about 12 billion reais ($3.75 billion), or 1.2 times book value.
Representatives at HSBC and Bradesco declined comment.
Analysts say that HSBC's exit from Brazil comes as large local lenders outperform smaller rivals and gain more muscle to ride out a deteriorating economic outlook.
Slow asset growth prevented HSBC Brasil from gaining scale to win market share, leading return on equity to post a negative 4.2 percent last year.
HSBC is also very close to selling its Turkish business to Dutch lender ING Group for around $700 million-$750 million.