KBC, the Belgian banking group, has emerged as one of the leading contenders to buy Charterhouse Securities, the broking arm of Crédit Commercial de France which has been put up for auction after the acquisition of CCF by HSBC.

The broking operations of KBC are centred in Belgium, where it is a big player on Easdaq, and Paris, where it acquired local broking firm Transbourse three years ago. KBC has no direct presence in the UK market.