RoyalBank of ScotlandGroup Plc, Standard Chartered Plc andBNPParibas sa are also part of thenegotiations, the people said, declining to be identified before an official announcement.
The second group included Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale, Barclays, Credit Agricole, BNPParibas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and UBS. Moody's said these firms had varying risk factors, from high dependence on capital markets operations to limited liquidity and exposure to Europe.