Dubai may buy into U.S. banks after mortgage crisis

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Dubai government agency that bought into Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) this year said on Monday it was considering investing in U.S. financial services firms affected by the mortgage-market crisis.

DIFC Investments, one of the agencies Dubai has used to buy foreign assets, is identifying "good opportunities for acquisitions" in the United States, the governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said on Monday.

Asked whether the targets could include U.S. banks such as Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Omar bin Sulaiman told Reuters: "Without mentioning names we have a track record of taking stakes in banks, with the right partners for management."

"The price has to be right and the strategy has to be aligned," he said.

Asked whether it made sense to invest in banks which have taken a hit from the mortgage crisis, he said: "Yes, but we are looking at all sectors not just financial sectors."

(Reporting by John Irish)