Barclays has emerged as a leading bidder for online bank Egg, which has been put up for auction by current owner Citi, according to media reports.
Over the summer it was revealed that Citi is looking to auction off the unit - acquired from insurer Prudential for around £575 million in 2007 - as part of its ongoing disposal of non-core assets.
Sky News claims bidders have now been told whether they have made it through to the second round of the auction. Barclays is among those in the hunt for the £400 million valued business and hopes to merge it with Barclaycard and its mortgage operations, says Sky.
According to the Financial Times, private equity group Blackstone and at least one other bank are also in the running. None of the parties involved are commenting.