Several banks vie for Citi German business: report

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - U.S. bank Citigroup (C.N) plans to draw up a short list of interested bidders quickly in the sale of its German Citibank retail operations, a German newspaper reported on Friday.

Selected bidders will gain access to Citibank's books within the next two weeks, Handelsblatt newspaper said, citing several insiders as sources.

The paper said it was not clear how many potential bidders had come forward by the time the deadline for non-binding offers ended on Thursday night, but said one person familiar with the situation had spoken of ten interested parties.

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) and Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) were among the banks flagging interest, the paper quoted financial sources as saying, adding that the banks all declined comment.

Reuters reported last month that Citigroup was mulling a sale of its German retail operations, which makes most of its money from loans for everything from televisions to cars.

Citibank's parent, Citigroup, has said it plans to shed $400 billion of assets within three years in a bid to restore profitability after huge losses.

(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by David Cowell)