Rabobank close to Hangzhou bank deal

Dutch banking group Rabobank is close to finalizing a deal to take a 14.9% stake in Hangzhou Cooperative Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported. A Rabobank spokesman said the acquisition was planned for early 2006 but a price had not been determined. A deal has been under discussion since at least late 2004, when the Dutch bank said it and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. planned to acquire a combined 24.9% holding in the Chinese lender, which was then known as Hangzhou Rural Credit Cooperative Union, with IFC taking a 10% stake.