Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) will evaluate Al Watany Bank of Egypt before deciding whether to make an offer for a stake in the lender, a Kuwaiti newspaper said.

Egypt's central bank agreed in June to allow three banks, including Commercial Bank and National Bank of Kuwait, to conduct due diligence studies that could lead to potential offers for the Egyptian bank, Al Watany said on June 20.

The two Kuwaiti lenders could compete with Greece's EFG Eurobank for an unspecified stake, Al-Watany said at the time.

The six-week evaluation period permitted by the Egyptian central bank ends this week, Kuwait's Al Watan daily reported.

"Commercial Bank is expected to start due diligence this week before making an offer to buy a majority stake in the bank," the paper said, citing sources that it did not name.

Commercial Bank, Kuwait's fourth-largest lender by market value, has expanded abroad as competition increases in its home market. It has started operations in Iraq and Syria, and is the largest shareholder in Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait. -Reuters