Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the news service said that Lampe is in talks with the private equity firm KKR about a joint bid for BHF-Bank. For its part, LGT may team up with the private equity firm Apollo on a potential bid, the report said.

Deutsche Bank acquired BHF-Bank in March when it bought its parent company Sal Oppenheim for €1 billion (around $1.4 billion). While BHF-Bank is thought to have a book value of €650 million, it is expected to fetch around half this due to its need for extensive restructuring, the sources said. Other potential bidders have reportedly been put off due to Deutsche's insistence that it wants to sell BHF-Bank as a whole rather than spin off businesses such as wealth management separately.

Speculation as to the potential buyers of BHF-Bank has been rife in recent months. Earlier in October reports emerged that Hinduja Group was considering making a bid, the Indian firm having already bought KBL European Private Bankers from Belgium's KBC Group in May this year.