NAB shortlisted as bet for 318 RBS branches

NAB rivals Santander as they are the likely bidders after two other lenders were removed from the race.

Spain's Banco Santander SA (STD) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) will likely be the short-listed bidders for Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's (RBS) 318 U.K. branches, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.

According to other people familiar with the situation, Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) is still in the race, but the bank is using the RBS bid as an opportunity to get more details on the U.K. market, rather than being seriously interested.

The shortlist will likely be out by the end of the week, and a deal is expected to be closed by the end of the year.

Richard Branson's privately held Virgin Money and a consortium of Blackstone Group (BX) and U.K. charity Wellcome Trust were eliminated from the process because their bids were too low, according to people familiar with the situation.

The five companies put down bids between GBP1.5 billion ($2,23 billion) and GBP2 billion ($2.7 billion).

RBS, 83% government owned, is selling branches in England and Wales, along with NatWest branches in Scotland, and the accounts of some SME customers across the U.K., under European Union requirements.

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