BNP Paribas SA (ENXTPA:BNP) and State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) are vying to buy the custody business of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BME:BBVA) and have made indicative bids for the unit as they battle to build scale, three sources told Reuters. BBVA launched the sale of the unit during the summer and is working to draw a shortlist of bidders to be admitted to the final stages of the auction early next year, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The sale, valued at about EUR 500 million ($566.50 million), has also drawn interest from Credit Agricole - Egypt Bank (S.A.E.) (CASE:CIEB), Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK), the sources said.

Cecabank, S.A. has also come forward with an offer, one of the sources said, cautioning it may struggle to compete with larger international players. BBVA, BNP and Cecabank declined to comment while the other companies were not immediately available. "You need to generate heavy volumes for these operations to make sense as margins are low," one of the sources said.