Australia's Westpac Banking Corp. is mulling a sale of its life insurance business, Reuters reported, citing two sources.
If a sale pushes through, Westpac would become the last among Australia's big four banks to exit the industry. The bank has received some interest and is in preliminary discussions, one of the sources said. The other source said a deal would likely involve a long-term partnership with the buyer instead of a clean asset sale. The bank has yet to make a final decision.
Earlier in September, American International Group Inc. was reported to be interested in Westpac's life insurance business. The U.S. insurer was reportedly in talks with Westpac for a deal valued between A$1.5 billion and A$2 billion.
A spokesman for Westpac declined to comment, while AIG representatives did not immediately return Reuters' requests for comment.
