Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Julius Baer Holding AG are among potential buyers of ING Groep NV’s private banking operations, three people familiar with the matter said.

Amsterdam-based ING, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, is seeking at least $1.8 billion for the assets, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. DBS, ANZ Bank and Julius Baer are among companies picked by ING to enter final bidding for its Asian and Swiss private banking units as early as next week, they said.

ING, which received a 10 billion euro ($14.3 billion) lifeline in October from the Netherlands, is seeking to raise as much as 8 billion euros selling assets to boost capital. The company’s Asian wealth management operations may draw bids of about $1 billion, the people said.

“Private banking is a fast-growing sector in Asia and could attract interest from those who want to expand in the region, especially in China,” said Yoon Charng Bae, a banking analyst at Seoul-based Hyundai Securities Co. “It remains to be seen whether ING’s assets themselves could garner much interest, given its relatively small presence in Asia.”

DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and ANZ Bank, the fourth-biggest Australian lender, are seeking to buy ING’s Asian private banking operations, the people said. Julius Baer, the Swiss bank splitting off its wealth unit, may bid for both the Asian and Swiss businesses, they said.

China Wealthy

Credit Suisse Group AG has entered a preliminary offer and it’s uncertain whether the Zurich-based bank will enter the final round of bids, one of the people said. Spokespeople for ING, DBS, ANZ, Julius Baer and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

The sale of private banking assets in Asia, home to the world’s two fastest-growing major economies, may attract buyers seeking to expand their wealth-management operations in the region.

China’s number of so-called high net worth individuals, or those with at least $1 million of assets to invest, surpassed that of the U.K. last year to become the world’s fourth-highest, according to the 2009 World Wealth Report by Cap Gemini SA and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

ING’s attempts to sell the operations may be helped by the 59 percent rally in the MSCI World Index from a March 9 low.

“We’ve seen a nice rally, so it’s probably more attractive to sell the business now,” said Benoit Petrarque, an analyst at Kepler Capital Markets in Amsterdam who has a “buy” rating on ING shares. “It’s not bad timing to sell in September.”

Asset Reshuffle

ING’s Asian private banking division has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines, according to its Web site. Assets under management declined to 11.4 billion euros in the first quarter of 2009 from 13.1 billion euros a year earlier. The bank’s Swiss private banking business has eight offices with about 340 employees, according to its Web site.

The credit crisis has triggered asset sales by major financial firms in the U.S. and Europe, as companies including Citigroup Inc., American International Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sought to repair balance sheets amid $1.6 trillion of writedowns and losses worldwide.

ANZ earlier this month agreed to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s commercial and consumer banking businesses in six Asian countries for $550 million. RBS, based in Edinburgh, is selling or shutting businesses in two-thirds of the 54 countries in which it operates after posting the biggest loss in British corporate history last year.

Profit Falls

ING’s second-quarter profit fell 96 percent, more than analysts estimated, as it set aside money for risky loans and reduced the value of its real-estate holdings. Chief Executive Officer Jan Hommen, who took over in January, this month said the company would cut 8,219 jobs, more than previously planned, and reduce costs.

The firm raised 1.4 billion euros in February by selling its 70 percent stake in ING Canada Inc., that country’s largest property and casualty insurer. The company agreed to sell its annuity and mortgage businesses in Chile to Corp Group Vida Chile SA last month. Corpvida will pay about $350 million for the assets, Santiago-based newspaper Diario Financiero said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net; Ambereen Choudhury in London at achoudhury@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 26, 2009 06:44 EDT