The Luxembourg-based BIL unit has €15 billion (around $22 billion) in private-banking assets. Dexia may decide whether to sell after it completes talks with the European Commission on a reorganisation plan, the news agency said.

Dexia declined to comment when called by WealthBriefing.

Dexia is under pressure to offload businesses after getting a €6 billion bailout last year. The firm, which is based in Brussels and Paris, is in discussions over a reorganisation plan with the European Commission, which in October authorized Belgium, France and Luxembourg to extend guarantees on the company’s debt until February.

A number of financial institutions that have received taxpayers’ money in state rescues have started to offload non-core assets. Commerzbank, the German banking group, has disposed of non-German private banking businesses in Switzerland and the UK; ING, the Dutch group, has sold private banking assets in Switzerland and Asia, while Royal Bank of Scotland has sold Asian-based assets.