The sale of Novo Banco, the lender that emerged from the breakup of Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo, has drawn interest from 17 entities after firms including Banco Santander and Banco BPI said they may make bids.

The Bank of Portugal announced the number following the New Year's Eve deadline for entering the process, saying it would check whether the parties met pre-qualification requirements.

Potential investors will get information and be invited to present non-binding bids. The Lisbon-based central bank is not identifying entities at this stage.

Once Portugal’s biggest bank by market value, Banco Espirito Santo was bailed out in August after regulators ordered it to raise capital following the disclosure of potential losses on loans to companies that are part of the family-controlled Espirito Santo Group.

The central bank moved the lender’s deposits and most of its assets to Novo Banco.

Santander, Spain’s largest bank, and Portugal’s Banco BPI have said they may bid. Banco Popular Espanol, Spain’s fifth-largest bank, and Apollo Global Management, the New York-based private-equity firm, have indicated interest. – (Bloomberg)