UPDATE 1-Sweden's HQ to unveil deal Thursday as sale eyed

* HQ says to present agreement at news conference

* HQ liquidator says process moving in right direction

* Swedish bank lost licence for breaking risk rules

* DnB NOR not in talks buy bank - source

(Adds detail, quote, background)

By Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard

STOCKHOLM, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Swedish investment bank HQ (HQ.ST), which was closed by authorities at the weekend for breaking risk rules, said it would unveil a deal on Thursday amid frantic efforts to find a buyer for the niche bank.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) stripped HQ of its licence after the watchdog found it broke banking and risk regulations at its trading operation, which was shut down by HQ in June. [ID:nLDE67U0K6]

"HQ Bank is planning a news conference on Thursday to present the details of an agreement," the bank said in a short statement. An HQ spokesman declined to provide any further information.

The FSA put HQ bank into liquidation on Monday, a decision which the bank has said it is appealing. The bank's liquidator, Bjorn Riese, has since then sought a buyer for the bank in the hopes of salvaging at least parts of the business.

Riese was quoted in the HQ statement as saying the process "was moving in the right direction" and that he still expected the bank, which has remained closed since losing its licence, to reopen for business on Friday.

HQ Chairman Mats Qviberg, one of Sweden's best known financiers, told Reuters on Tuesday he expected a buyer for the bank to emerge, saying the business had functioning operations and a large amount of capital under management.

Swedish media have mentioned Norway's DnB NOR DNBNOR.OL and Nordea (NDA.ST), the Nordic region's biggest bank, as potential buyers of the bank, though some of its key staff have already been poached by rivals.

A source familiar with DnB NOR's view on the matter told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that the Norwegian bank was not in talks to buy HQ. The bank declined to comment. [ID:OSL014809]

A Nordea spokeswoman also delined to comment on whether it was eyeing HQ, as did two of Sweden's other major banks, SEB (SEBa.ST) and Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST). Swedbank (SWEDa.ST), the fourth largest, was not immediately available.

The FSA pulled HQ Bank's licence after finding a lack of oversight in its trading operation, saying the bank had taken such large risks it endangered its own survival, and the prosecutor's office has opened a separate investigation.

It was the second time in two years that Sweden has acted forcibly against a financial group. In 2008, the FSA withdrew the licence for brokerage Carnegie, which was then taken over by the state and sold in 2009 to private equity groups.

HQ shares were suspended on the Stockholm stock exchange after the stock plunged 80 percent on Monday. (Additional reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo; Editing by Will Waterman)