Westpac Banking Corp is in talks to sell its life insurance business, according to reports by newswire Reuters.
Discussions are at a preliminary stage, as the bank has not made a final decision on the matter yet, but it has received some interest.
One source told the newswire that Westpac is planning to initially strike a long-term partnership instead of surrendering the life business altogether.
This could value the unit at around A$2bn (£1bn, $1.3bn, €1.2bn).
Foreign attention
According to local newspaper The Australian, insurer AIG was among those interested and has already been in conversation with Westpac, with the deal valued between A$1,5bn to A$2bn.
The other three big Australian banks, namely Commonwealth Bank of Australia, NAB (National Australia Bank) and ANZ Banking Group, have all sold most of their life businesses.
As of June 2019, Westpac’s life arm had A$6.9bn in liabilities and annual revenue of A$988m.
