As per the informed sources, the Emirates NBD, the largest bank in the country, and Mashreq might be targeting the UAE's retail operations of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Emirates NBD Chief Executive Officer Rick Pudner described the bank as being pretty interested in that asset. He informed this on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of shareholders previous week

He told, "We are looking at that option positively. We have not yet made the bid, but I don't want to rule out the possibility."

It should be noted though that till now, Emirates Business has not been able to versify the Mashreq development with its officials. A few unconfirmed reports specify that some other banks from the UAE are also competing to purchase the retail operations of RBS in the country.

With the aim of selling off its operations in Asia, RBS has been in talks with many institutions since the United Kingdom Government bought a controlling stake in the bank previous year.

Emirates NBD was formed during the joining of Emirates Bank and NBD.