Revival of talks to buy part of MBNA Europe operations continues Sir Richard Branson’s aggressive expansion of his banking empire.

Sir Richard Branson's banking arm has resurrected talks to buy a £1bn credit card book from a Wall Street giant as it accelerates its challenge to Britain's major high street lenders. I understand that Virgin Money is in detailed talks to buy part of MBNA's UK portfolio, which is owned by Bank of America (BoA), one of the world’s largest banks by assets.The talks, which stalled earlier in the year when BoA aborted an auction of its entire UK business, are understood to have been revived several weeks ago and have gained momentum since then. An announcement about a deal, which would be subject to approvals from UK and US regulators, is likely to be made in the next few months. It is unclear exactly how much Virgin Money will pay to acquire the portfolio. If it gets completed, the transaction would continue the aggressive expansion of Virgin Money's business under Jayne-Anne Gadhia, its chief executive. Last year, it secured a deal to buy Northern Rock from British taxpayers, four years after it was forced to rely on funding from the Bank of England to keep it from collapsing.....Read more here: Virgin Eyes £1bn Credit Cards Deal

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