Religare Enterprises, the Indian financial services group, has submitted a non-indicative bid to buy the Asian private banking assets of ING, the Dutch banking and insurance group, according to the Economic Times (of India).

The newspaper said Credit Suisse and two Singapore-based banks were also in the fray for the business that manages assets of €11 billion ($15.6 billion). The paper cited a person familiar with the matter, but did not disclose the source's identity. Religare did not comment.

ING is looking to divest its private banking operations outside of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Julius Baer, the Swiss bank, has hired fellow Swiss bank UBS to advise on a possible bid for ING's private banking units in Asia and Europe, according to Reuters.

The Economic Times’ report said ING's Asian and European private banking portfolio could fetch more than $1 billion. This portfolio did not include its Indian assets, it said.

Earlier in August, Religare Macquarie Private Wealth, the wealth management joint venture between India’s Religare Wealth Management Services and Australian bank Macquarie, said it planned to hire 800 investment advisors and client relationship managers in the next three to four years. The equal joint venture, which is based in Delhi, currently has a headcount of 160 and is to hire 100 by the end of 2009.