Two people with knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is confidential and said that Legend is collaborating with Goldman Sachs on the alternatives for Luxembourg’s oldest private bank. Legend is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and partially controls the Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo,

According to one of the two, BIL might be worth between €2.5bn and €3bn if it were sold. The individual also mentioned the possibility of selling the bank’s wealth management and retail divisions in separate transactions.

Such a disposal would follow other recent Chinese corporations’ sales last year: Fosun sold its investment in the Belgian insurer Ageas and had been preparing to list its Portuguese insurance firm Fidelidade, while China’s Geely sold its shares in Saxo Bank to Swiss private bank J Safra Sarasin.

BIL, which was established in 1856 and is headed by CEO Jeffrey Dentzer, specialises in wealth management, insurance broking, and retail and corporate banking. The bank was valued at €1.48bn when Legend purchased a 90% share from Qatar's royal family in 2017. The government of Luxembourg owns the remaining 10%.

According to its most recent figures as of June of last year, BIL’s assets under management have increased by 20% since then, reaching €45.5bn, whereas its net income fell to €83m, a 20% decrease from the year before.