Sources familiar with the matter were quoted by the Bloomberg as saying that Westpac Banking, Macquarie Group Pepper Australia Pty and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, are set to submit their final bids.
The transaction, dubbed as Project Carey, has been valued at nearly A$9bn ($8.6bn) and bids are due on 30 September 2013.
The proposed sale of both operations is part of the 40% government-owned UK lender’s plan to shed off non-core operations, in order to ramp up the required capital.
If the proposed transaction materializes, the part-nationalized bank will be able to quit the Australian market to concentrate on lending to households and businesses in the UK.
Goldman Sachs Group (GS) is offering advice to Lloyds on the sale, with senior management from Credit Suisse Group also helping the bank.
Lloyds’ Capital Finance unit, which offers retail, equipment and commercial financing services, has over A$6bn in assets and equity of more than A$2bn, a person familiar with the matter told the news agency.
