Belgian lender KBC Bank NV on Thursday said it would sell Antwerp Diamond Bank (ADB) to a Chinese investor. ADB is the final unit KBC agreed to sell for approval of a €7 billion ($9.5 billion) aid package it received at the height of the financial crisis.
According to a report by Reuters, KBC gave no financial details about the sale of ADB to China's Yiren Group. The Belgian bank, however, said that the disposal would free up €100 million of capital.
Because of its niche position in the banking world, selling ADB was a difficult task for KBC, the report said.
KBC also announced the completion of the sale of its Serbian unit on Thursday. But it has yet to close the sale of its German unit KBC Deutschland. The disposal of KBC Deutschland, together with the finalization of the sale of ADB, will bring to an end a long process of selling various units, Reuters said.
European Union (EU) regulators told the Belgian lender to sell non-core assets in exchange for the state aid that the Belgian federal and regional governments awarded it in 2008. KBC has since then disposed of a string of units, reducing its risk-weighted assets by 42%, the report said.
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