MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Veneto Banca is discussing the possible sale of its private banking unit Banca Intermobiliare to Swiss bank BSI in a deal that would help it beef up its weak capital base.
The unlisted cooperative lender said on Tuesday it had entered on Oct. 23 a three-week period of exclusive talks with BSI. The value of the deal is still under discussion, it said in a statement.
Italian paper Il Messaggero reported on Tuesday BSI had presented an offer worth 280 million euros for a majority stake in Banca Intermobiliare.
Veneto Banca, one of 13 Italian banks under direct European Central Bank oversight, is also preparing to raise up to 1 billion euros in cash from investors to comply with capital requirements.
The agreed sale of BIM to a group of Italian investors fell through earlier this year as the ECB failed to give a green light to the deal.