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The
other bidder left in the race is rival Singaporean lender
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, the sources added. However, they
cautioned that no final deal has been agreed and there could be
last minute changes.
"This is a race between DBS and OCBC," said one of the sources.
Singapore's banks have been expanding in wealth management,
picking up assets sold by some Western banks as they retreat to
focus on their own markets.
A win for DBS would help strengthen its lead in wealth
management among Singapore's three listed banks, while a victory
for OCBC would enable it to overtake DBS.
The sale is part of a restructuring by Barclays' new chief
executive, Jes Staley, and comes as several European banks
rethink their Asian strategy due to pressure at home to cut
costs.
DBS, OCBC and Barclays declined to comment.
Buyers of Barclays' Singapore and Hong Kong subsidiaries would
gain access to $20 billion worth of private client assets,
sources have said previously.
Julius Baer and United Overseas Bank also took part in the
initial stages of the sale process, they said. Spokespeople for
Julius Baer and UOB declined to comment.
OCBC's private banking arm, Bank of Singapore, had $68 billion
worth of assets under management at the end of 2015, whereas DBS
private bank had S$97 billion ($70 billion) of assets belonging
to high net worth clients.
Unlike DBS and OCBC, UOB has not pursued acquisitions to expand
its private bank, leaving it smaller than those of its two
rivals.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Anshuman Daga; Editing by Denny
Thomas, Greg Mahlich)
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