Consortium to Bid for Morgan Stanley's Spanish Private Banking

Christopher Owen

5 December 2007

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, the second largest bank in Spain, has formed a consortium with savings banks La Caixa and Caja Madrid to bid for Morgan Stanley's Spanish private banking arm. Morgan Stanley has placed a €600 million ($884.4 million) price tag on the Spanish division, said an online ABC report citing unnamed sources, noting that BNP Paribas may also be interested in bidding. A deal is expected to be closed before the beginning of January, ABC reported.