Hawkpoint, the London-based corporate finance boutique, has won a fourth role on Abbey National's £60bn (€91bn) asset disposal programme, selling its French mortgage lending business to BNP Paribas.

News of "advanced talks" between the two banks comes 24 hours after Baudouin Prot, BNP Paribas' chief executive, ruled the French bank out of bidding for the whole of Abbey which last week agreed a £8.5bn takeover by Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano. HBOS, a UK bank, has said it may counter bid.