HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) is reportedly looking at a multi-billion pound sale of its businesses in Canada in what would mark a significant retreat from its presence in North America.
A report on Sky News said that HSBC's board has instructed investment bankers at JP Morgan to sound out prospective buyers of its business in the country.
Sources said a sale would represent a substantial deal - both financially and symbolically - for HSBC.
According to its website, HSBC is the seventh-largest bank in Canada, having made more than a dozen acquisitions there since the early 1980s.
One analyst suggested that the value of its Canadian subsidiary could be in the region of US$7bn (£6bn).
It comes as the London-headquartered lender is confronted by a campaign orchestrated by the Chinese insurance group Ping An for it to embark on a wholesale break-up.
Ping An, which owns more than 8% of HSBC, is thought to have told HSBC - led by chairman Mark Tucker and chief executive Noel Quinn - to split its lucrative Hong Kong business from the rest of its global empire.