First-e pushed to sell

NEWS Online bank First-e is reported to be in talks with a German buyer following the collapse earlier this year of a $1.5bn merger with Spanish bank BBVA. German online bank DAB is believed to be in acquisition talks with First-e boss Gerhard Huber, according to a report in the Irish Independent. First-e majority shareholder Bancque D'Escompte of France has been pushing for a sale since the failure of the BBVA merger. Co-owner, Irish incubator firm Enba is also under pressure to sell after laying off 120 of its 400 staff since the beginning of the year. DAB is part owned by German financial giant Hypo Vereinsbank and could add half a million customers to First-e's 200,000 customer base.