GE put the Wizard chain up for sale earlier this year. According to The Australian, NAB is believed to be days away from clinching a deal.
A spokesman for GE told Good Returns that the company would not comment on speculation adding: “I can tell you that Wizard has not been sold.”
Unnamed sources were quoted by The Australian as stating that it was unclear whether NAB would buy Wizard’s distribution network or its $12 billion loan book.
The home loan provider has branches throughout Australia and New Zealand. The business, bought by GE in 2004 from founder Mark Bouris who remains chairman, is said to have been hit by problems related to the credit crunch and the slowdown in the housing market.
A sale to NAB would mark further consolidation in the Australasian banking industry, reducing competition as major banks purchase smaller, specialist lending operations.
