British banking group HSBC is looking to sell off its online credit card business, Marbles.
HSBC acquired the online credit card business when it bought Household International in 2003 - now known as HFC Bank.
According to a report by UK newspaper The Independent, a number of hedge funds and private equity groups are interested in buying Marbles' portfolio of loans.
The credit card book is a discrete portfolio that can be sold off easily. Marbles also markets personal loans but these are not for sale, says the report.
Marbles, which launched in 1999, was one of the first UK online credit cards. But the unit has been closed to new business since April as intense competition in the credit card market made the costs of promoting the brand uneconomic, says the Independent.