TMB Bank PCL, 25.9%-owned by Thailand's Finance Ministry, has received offers from local financial institutions to combine their operations, the Bangkok Post reported Dec. 20, citing Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong.

Tantivorawong said offers came from institutions such as Thanachart Bank PCL and Krung Thai Bank PCL, although the latter denied having such plan, according to the report.

All negotiations were initial and not conclusive yet, Tantivorawong said.

The Thai government has been trying to consolidate the banking sector into fewer larger lenders in order to boost the sector's competitiveness.