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The Government wants to create three new High Street banks to increase competition in the UK - and today it finally became clear what these banks might look like.
Part-nationalised rivals Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group outlined what they plan to sell to appease regulators in Brussels concerned about state aid.
It followed last week's news that fully nationalised Northern Rock will split in two - a "good bank" to be sold to a private buyer and a "bad bank" to remain under government control.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has ruled out selling to established banks such as Barclays and HSBC and instead wants new entrants to the UK market.
Billionaire Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson confirmed that he is interested in looking at UK bank assets up for sale as he creates Virgin Bank.
Other bidders look set to come from abroad and interested parties could include Spain's BBVA and Santander, National Australia Bank, China Bank, sovereign wealth funds such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and US private equity groups.
European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes told RBS, Lloyds and Northern Rock to package together "a stand-alone UK banking business" to sell by 2013. Here is what is on offer:
Lloyds Banking Group
• Cheltenham & Gloucester, TSB, Intelligent Finance
• More than 600 branches and 5000+ staff
• 3.5 million customers
• 4.6% of UK current accounts, or £30billion
• 5% of UK mortgages, or £70 billion.
Lloyds has been forced to sell a fifth of its retail network as its disastrous merger with HBOS - stitched together by Gordon Brown - is unpicked.
More than 600 branches - comprising around a fifth of its UK network - are on the block including all at Cheltenham & Gloucester and Lloyds TSB in Scotland, and 250 of its Lloyds TSB outlets in England and Wales. The break-up was more severe than many feared.
The Lloyds offer is the biggest of the three and after years of conservative banking looks the most attractive offer to a foreign player.
Royal Bank of Scotland
• RBS in England and Wales, Natwest in Scotland
• 318 branches and 6000 staff
• 1.7 million retail customers, 230,000 small and medium enterprise (SME) customers
• 2% of UK retail market and 5% of the SME market
• £19 billion of deposits and £20billion of loans
The RBS carve up was the most dramatic, but in terms of the UK High Street bank, it is selling 318 branches of the former Williams & Glyn's outlets in England and Wales, now branded RBS, and its NatWest branches in Scotland.
This represents 14% of its UK network and reduces its retail market share by 2%. It also slashes its share of the small business banking market, an area where Williams & Glyn's excelled, by 5%.
Chief executive Stephen Hester said the offer constitutes "a viable, standalone, nationwide business".
Northern Rock
• The "good bank" not "bad bank"
• 76 branches and 4500 staff
• 1 million customers
• £18.5 billion of deposits
• £10 billion of mortgages
Virgin tried to rescue Northern Rock before it was nationalised so it could be interested in taking on the "good bank" now that much of the rubbish that crippled the Geordie lender has been removed.
All customer deposits have been put in the good bank as well as the safe part of the mortgage book.
The more risky mortgages, such as the 125% loans issued under the ill-fated Together deal, have been pushed into the "bad bank" owned by the taxpayer.
But the tarnished reputation of the former building society may put off buyers.
