UPDATE: HSBC Bids For ING Private Banking Assets-Source

HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) has submitted a bid for ING Groep NV's (ING) private banking assets, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.

The Dutch bank has put up both its Asian and Swiss private banking assets for sale and potential buyers can choose to bid for either one or both assets. The person declined to say how much HSBC has bid for the assets or whether it was bidding for one or both of the assets.

People familiar with the situation said Thursday that ING had received five bids for its Asian private banking assets and three bids for the Swiss operations. Bidders for the assets included DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (D05.SG) and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Holding AG (BAER.VX).

Analysts said Singapore's DBS is likely to have bid for just the Asian assets, while Julius Baer likely bid for both the Asian and Swiss assets as part of moves to strengthen its foothold both at home and abroad.

Another person familiar with the situation said Friday that ING will name the preferred bidder for the asset sale in 10 days. Then, the preferred bidder will go into more detailed negotiations with ING over price and other specifics, the person said.

Proceeds from the sale, which people familiar with the matter have said should come to around US$2 billion, will help ING pay down the EUR10 billion in bailout funds it received from the Dutch government in October.

At the end of June, ING's Asian private banking operations had around US$16 billion of assets under management, while its Swiss operations had around US$15 billion of assets under management.

In Asia, ING's private banking operations covers the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

-By Amy Or, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2832 2335; [e-mail]