UK bank HSBC and Italian group Intesa Sanpaolo have emerged as bidders for AIB’s 70 per cent stake in Poland’s Bank Zachodni WBK, while Sberbank of Russia has denied earlier media reports that it had bid before Monday’s deadline for indicative offers.

Scandinavian bank Nordea is also among the preliminary bidders for BZ WBK, according to Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.