Local banks poised to buy European assets

Expectations are high that Gulf banks will swoop upon assets sold by struggling eurozone lenders, with Turkey's DenizBank the first announced takeover target.

Gulf banks are poised to pounce upon assets held by struggling European banks, with lenders in Egypt and Turkey earmarked as potential acquisition targets.

European banks are trying to raise capital to offset a hole punched in their balance sheets by the euro-zone's sovereign-debt crisis.

Turkey's DenizBank, an arm of Dexia, a stricken Franco-Belgian lender, became the first publicly announced takeover target in the region this week.

Europe's woes are creating opportunities for acquisitions at Gulf lenders as European banks seek to shore up cash reserves, said Ankur Shah, the director of equity research at Arqaam Capital.

"The European banks are going to be forced sellers," he said. "They're trying to raise cash to offset risk in their sovereign portfolios."

The IMF estimates that the combination of credit risk from Greece and other struggling euro-zone nations with falling bank asset prices and interbank exposure has left European banks with a total credit risk of €300 billion (Dh1.52 trillion), with sovereign debt being two thirds of the total.

On Tuesday, Qatar National Bank, the emirate's biggest bank, said it was in talks to acquire Turkey's DenizBank, which is 99.84 per cent owned by Dexia.

"Negotiations are still in early stages, and their success depends on the conformity of DenizBank business activities with QNB Group's international expansion strategy," the bank said.

Dexia is being dismantled by the governments of Belgium and France. The bank declined to comment on the disposal.

Russia's Sberbank and London-based HSBC are also said to be involved in talks over the acquisition of DenizBank, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. Both banks declined to comment.

National Société Générale Bank, an Egyptian lender, could also become a potential takeover target as its French parent seeks additional capital, wrote Jaap Meijer, a financial analyst at AlembicHC, in a research report.