Egypt's central bank said on Monday it had given preliminary approval for Standard Chartered  to start due diligence with a view to buying the Egyptian unit of Greece's Piraeus Bank.

Standard Chartered has said it is considering buying the unit, a deal that would boost the Greek bank as it seeks to strengthen its balance sheet in light of the downturn facing debt-laden Greece.

Al-Mal newspaper, citing central bank sources, reported on Monday that the central bank was in the process of setting a date to start due diligence for the Greek Bank.

Hisham Ramez, the central bank's deputy governor, confirmed the report to Reuters.   

Piraeus bank said in a previous statement that a request had been submitted to the Central Bank of Egypt so that due diligence could commence, but that there was no certainty as to whether any agreement would be reached. - Reuters