Kleinwort Benson, the UK private bank up for sale by its German parent, will receive final bids this week but the bank declined to name any of the bidders.

When asked by WealthBriefing the identity of such bidders, or whether the number of suitors had been reduced to one, the bank declined to comment.

“Negotiations are at a critical stage. What I can say is that the final bids are being put in this week. But in no way have we narrowed it down to a single company,” a spokesperson said.

One of the UK’s oldest private banking firms, Kleinwort Benson is being sold by Commerzbank, the Frankfurt-listed firm, as the German bank spins off non-domestic assets. Commerzbank has received taxpayer’s funds from the German state and it must sell off such assets as a condition of receiving aid under European Union rules.

Commerzbank acquired the UK business when it purchased Dresdner Bank from Allianz, the German insurance and financial services group, last year.