Lloyds Banking Group is considering selling its Australian asset finance and commercial lending operations, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The US newspaper quotes unnamed sources "familiar with the matter" as saying the 40% UK government-owned bank has started formal sale proceedings for Capital Finance and BOS International.
Capital Finance offers a range of asset finance, aviation finance and consumer motor finance, and, together with BOS International, represents Au$9.4bn (6.5bn) in assets under management.
The report speculates potential buyers for the Capital Finance unit would include the Australia-headquartered Macquarie Group, which already has a substantial asset finance business, or Chinese, Japanese and Canadian banks seeking to establish a footprint in the market.
The paper names Goldman Sachs as advising on the sale.
A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group told Leasing Life the company does not comment on speculation.
