New Bank Bid Vehicle To List On LSE In Weeks - Source

8th Jul 2010 12:48

By Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Two city heavyweights are behind a new bank bid vehicle expected to list on the London Stock Exchange within weeks and buy up banking assets being sold by U.K. banks, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd's of London, the insurance market, will chair the new vehicle while city guru David Walker, who recently led a corporate governance review of the banking sector, will hold a non-executive role. The pair have already been in talks with potential investors, among them Aviva Investors, investment management arm of U.K. insurer Aviva PLC (AV.LN), F&C Asset Management PLC (FCAM.LN) and U.S. giant Invesco Inc. (IVZ) who have agreed to invest billions of pounds in the vehicle, the person said. Cenkos, the investment bank, and Kinmont, an advisory firm, are advising on the project's proposals, the person added. The vehicle, which has a working title of 'Project New Bank,' will be the latest entrant to compete for banking assets being sold by banks as part of large disposal programs triggered by the financial crisis. Some banks, such as collapsed morgage-lender Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) have been nationalized either wholly or in part and are selling large swathes of banking and non-core assets. Project New Bank will focus on acquiring retail and small banking businesses and joins competitors such as Richard Branson's Virgin Money, U.S. entrepreneur Vernon Hill's Metro Bank and diversified retailers like Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN). -By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 08, 2010 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)