(Australia) – British bank HBOS Plc has tabled a A$1.04 billion proposal to buy the balance of its half owned Bank of Western Australia.Britain’s fifth largest bank, HBOS is offering A$4.25 a share in cash to claim the remaining 43 percent of shares in the Australian regional bank, a recent victim of a handful of corporate bad loans. Market sources suggest the move could presage HBOS disposing of the Bank in total. The bid values BankWest at A$2.4 billion.
BankWest has also over recent times been executing a strategy to extend its business banking operations onto the Eastern seaboard markets of Australia with modest success. East & Partners’ Commercial Transaction Banking Markets service has seen some evidence of account gain in the SME and lower middle market segments, led by relatively strong pricing and customer satisfaction performance being achieved.