Polish authorities are expected to step up their campaign to win back domestic ownership of Bank Zachodni WBK next week, after formal bids were submitted for AIB's controlling stake in the bank.
Reports in the Polish press suggest there are two bidders still in contention for AIB's 70 per cent stake in Bank Zachodni.
AIB did not comment on the reports, which are based on an unofficial deadline of August 20th for bids in the Polish bank.
Spanish bank Santander, the biggest bank in the euro zone, and Poland's largest lender PKO Bank Polski, in which the Polish government is a shareholder, are the two main interested parties in AIB's stake in the Polish operation.
Polish authorities are backing a sale of the stake to PKO Bank because it is seeking to reduce foreign ownership of Poland's banking sector.
Banking analysts do not anticipate that the sale of Bank Zachodni and the bank's UK business will be agreed until at least the end of September.
AIB managing director Colm Doherty said at the publication of the bank's interim results on August 4th that the bank would report to the market on the sale of the Polish and UK units by the end of next month.
There has been speculation that AIB will seek to sell both the Polish asset and its UK division as part of one deal to Santander, which already has banking assets in both countries. AIB's stake in US bank M&T has also been mentioned in connection with a "job lot" sale to Santander, which has emerged from the global financial crisis in a position of relative strength.
Analysts say a Santander deal would be attractive to AIB because it would streamline its asset disposal process and avert potential problems with selling its non-Polish assets.
Two bidders for Bank Zachodni have effectively withdrawn from the race. French bank BNP Paribas made an initial offer, but reports in the French press have indicated that the offer fell below the price being sought by AIB, effectively putting it out of contention.
Intesa Sanpaolo, the second largest bank in Italy, withdrew its offer earlier this week, citing the high price and lack of synergies in the Polish market for its operations, according to the financial news wire Bloomberg.
AIB is selling its stake in Poland's third biggest bank by market value to help meet capital requirements set by the Financial Regulator. Analysts expect the bank to raise approximately €2.4 billion from the sale of the stake, which Mr Doherty has described as "the jewel in the crown" among AIB's overseas assets.
Citigroup's banking analysts downgraded Bank Zachodni's stock from a "buy" to a "hold" earlier this week. The bank must raise €7.4 billion to satisfy the Financial Regulator's new capital standards and has been told it must do so by the end of 2010.
