Mumbai: UK banking group Lloyds TSB is in negotiations with Allianz SE to buy its Dresdner Bank unit, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported.

Dresdner Bank, valued at an estimated £6 billion has been put on the block by Allianz, the German insurance group which owns it.

Lloyds TSB, trying to cash in on the fall in the valuation of banking stocks post subprime, is also considering plans to bid for Postbank, Germany's biggest customer bank, and Citigroup's German operations, reports citing sources said.

Lloyds, which has emerged relatively unscathed from the credit crisis, may also opt to swap its Scottish Widows life insurance business with Dresdner's retail operations.

Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Britain's biggest provider of checking accounts is looking at growth regions to reduce dependence on the UK, where growth is slowing, the report cited people close to the developments as saying.

Reports said other major banks like Spain's Banco Santander SA, Spain's biggest bank, and Germany's Commerzbank are in talks with Allianz to acquire Dresdner.

Commerzbank is also considering a three-way merger with Dresdner Bank and Postbank, reports said.

Lloyds TSB chief executive Eric Daniels had in February said that the London-based bank was considering acquisition ``opportunities.''

An acquisition of Dresdner would add about 900 branches in Germany to the 2,000 outlets Lloyds TSB owns in Britain.

Munich-based Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, has been in talks for the sale of Dresdner, which lost over 3 billion euros in the credit market meltdown in the past year.