NAB still has no agreement with NBNK Investments

The lender’s decision to sell its UK operations is still pending.

National Australia Bank's potential exit from Britain through the sale of its UK operations is not imminent, The Australian Financial Review reported on Thursday citing sources close to the bank.

There has been speculation of a sale after British banking venture NBNK Investments said it was in talks over an acquisition but declined to name the target. .

The paper said a source close to National Australia Bank denied any agreement with NBNK was imminent.

The source said Australia's biggest bank had held exploratory talks with NBNK and others but discussions had not progressed beyond it.

"Nothing has changed apart from these reports in the UK media and NBNK being forced to suspend their shares because of them," the paper cited a source as saying. It said the source added NAB remained comfortable holding the UK assets.

National Australia Bank owns 330 branches in the United Kingdom under the Yorkshire and Clydesdale brands with analysts estimating a book value of 2.8 billion pounds ($4.46 billion) for the assets.

View the full story in Reuters.