A spokesman for Bank of America declined to comment Monday. Representatives for MBNA Europe didn't return calls seeking comment.
It is unclear why the sale has been abandoned, although one report said new capital requirements by European regulators had made the credit-card business less attractive to potential acquirers.
MBNA Europe comprises businesses both in the U.K. and Ireland, and operates a joint venture with Virgin Money, the financial-services arm of Richard Branson's Virgin business empire. Virgin-branded credit cards account for roughly 35% of the total loan book. Bank of America launched a sale process last year for the European businesses.
Virgin Money, Banco Santander SA, credit-card giant Capital One Financial Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in conjunction with Apollo Management LP, were all looking at the business, a person familiar with the process told Dow Jones earlier. These participants were all expected to submit second round bids before a pre-Christmas deadline.
The value attributed to the MBNA Europe cards portfolio is roughly GBP1 billion, although it isn't clear how many formal bids were ever received for the business or at what level they came in.
