Co-operative Bank plc (LON:CPBB) said today several “credible” parties have expressed interest in buying the loss-making lender.
The bank, which announced it had put itself up for sale on 13 February, also dismissed speculation that bidders face an imminent deadline to make initial offers.
Potential buyers will have until the first half of April to submit preliminary expressions of interest.
“A number of credible strategic and financial parties have expressed interest in the sale process and are currently evaluating information on the bank,” the Co-op Bank said in a statement.
The statement comes amid concerns that there have been few prospective buyers after a number of banks ruled out making a bid, including Metro Bank, TSB’s Spanish owner Sabadell and Secure Trust.
The Co-op Bank has said it needs to raise up to £750mln of additional core capital if its disposal plan fails.
In its statement today, it said it will continue to hold discussions with existing equity, debt security holders and new potential investors in case the sale doesn’t happen.
Co-op Bank has not made a profit since 2011 and has struggled to rebuild its capital position after being rescued from the brink of collapse by a group of hedge funds in 2013.
The rescued bank reported a loss of £477mln for full-year 2016, albeit a reduction from the £610mln loss posted in 2015.
The bank – which has 4 mln customers - has blamed low interest rates and higher than expected costs in implementing its turnaround plan for its failure to meet capital targets set by The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority.
"The bank has fully discussed, and will continue to discuss, both the sale process as well as the liability management exercise and equity capital raise with the Prudential Regulatory Authority, which has welcomed the actions being taken," the Co-op Bank said in today's announcement.