Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP) of Italy and Iran’s Bank Pasargad have applied to Turkey’s banking regulator for licenses to operate in the country, Star newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.

There are about 10 lenders considering whether to apply for a license or acquire a bank in Turkey, the Istanbul-based newspaper reported, citing unnamed banking regulator officials.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sibel Akbay in Istanbul at sakbay@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Aydan Eksin at aeksin@bloomberg.net