In a further development in speculation surrounding private bank Sal Oppenheim, Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank will pay about €1 billion ($1.47 billion) to buy a majority stake in the firm.

The move would allow Germany's biggest bank to take a clear majority in 220-year-old Sal Oppenheim from the start but the final price and size of the stake have yet to be set, the news service said yesterday, in a report citing unnamed sources. The two banks are aiming for agreement by end-October.

The €1 billion figure is based on a valuation of the entire bank, excluding Sal Oppenheim's investment banking operations separately up for sale and its Oppenheim-Esch property fund, the report said.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Deutsche may buy about 75 per cent of the Luxembourg-based private bank.

Deutsche Bank is interested in buying only Oppenheim's wealth management business. It remains unclear what will happen to the remainder of the Luxembourg-based bank.