HSBC tipped as Nedbank bidder

At the time, Julian Robertson, Old Mutual's chief executive declined to
comment on whether the company would keep Nedbank in the long term, but said
maintaining operations in South Africa, Europe and the United States was no
longer a strategic priority.

"The three equal legs the company had in the past, we are moving away
from that sort of concept. What I'm more interested in is having businesses
that give a good return. I'm not that concerned which geography the are in,"
he added.

Despite this, analysts said a sale would help the company achieve its aim of
simplifying its structure as it looks to make costs savings of £100m by
2012. Tony Silverman, an analyst at S&P Equity Research, added: "I
think that selling Nedbank will be part of resolving (Old Mutual's) capital
issues.

"It would be better if the buyer is not South African from Old Mutual's
point of view, because the proceeds are more likely to be able to remain
outside South Africa."

A spokesman for HBSC declined to comment on the reports. However, industry
insiders said buying a majority stake of South Africa's fourth-largest
lender would bulk up its presence in Africa's leading economy and give it a
wider platform for expansion on the growing continent.

Earlier, this month, HSBC confirmed it would buy RBS's Indian commercial and
retail banking operations for as much as £63m. This deal is expected to be
followed by more as the company looks to grow its global reach.

Standard Chartered, the emerging markets bank has also been touted as a buyer
for Nedbank. Standard was once one of South Africa's biggest lenders but
sold its stake in Standard Bank in 1987 amid opposition to Apartheid. It
returned in 2003 by opening a branch and buying an online bank but had to
write off that investment. It also considered buying Absa in 2004 but opted
out of a bidding war with Barclays.

One potential hurdle to a deal could be South African regulators, who may be
wary of another bank falling under foreign control and would want to keep
proceeds from a deal at home. Two of South Africa's biggest banks already
have significant foreign ownership and analysts have said the government may
not be keen to allow a third.

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