Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp has put a binding bid for Wing Hang Bank, taking the sale of Hong Kong's second-largest family-owned bank a step closer to completion.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp has put a binding bid for Wing Hang Bank, taking the sale of Hong Kong's second-largest family-owned bank a step closer to completion, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Singapore-headquartered firm – parent of Bank of Singapore, the private bank – could be the frontrunner among the suitors, which are rumoured to include Agricultural Bank of China, China Minsheng Bank and China's Anbang Insurance, the publication said.

OCBC conducted due diligence and offered less than two times the book value, which Wing Hang was seeking, the publication quoted two unnamed sources as saying.

The companies were discussing if they could bridge the valuation gap, the publication said.

OCBC declined to comment when emailed by the publication about the matter; a spokesperson also declined to comment.

The family of chairman and chief executive Patrick Fung Yuk-bun and Bank of New York Mellon, which together control 45 per cent of Wing Hang, first announced in September that they had entered into discussions with third parties to sell their stake.