NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - American Express Co <AXP.N> said it may sell its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China <1398.HK> <601398.SS>, worth more than $600 million, while Goldman Sachs <GS.N> may sell up to 20 percent of its stake in the Chinese bank.
The announcements come as U.S. financial institutions face renewed pressure to reduce their risk and shore up their balance sheets.
American Express, the fourth-largest U.S. credit card issuer, and Goldman Sachs, the fifth-largest U.S. bank, have recorded massive drops in profits as credit losses and writedowns have surged.
Goldman Vice Chairman Michael Evans, who appeared at ICBC's 2008 earnings media conference in Beijing, said the Wall Street firm does not need to raise cash and would not use the partial sale of its ICBC stake to repay funds it owes to the U.S. government.
"Goldman Sachs does not need to raise cash as a firm," Evans said.
Reports in U.S. newspapers earlier this week said Goldman was looking to sell part of its ICBC stake as soon as next month.
Goldman said it agreed to hold onto at least 80 percent of its stake through April 28, 2010, leaving it free to sell up to 20 percent.
Prior to the new agreement, Goldman would have been eligible to sell half its ICBC shares on April 28, 2009, and the other half on Oct. 20, 2009.
Goldman's investment in ICBC, including stakes held by Goldman-managed investment funds, is worth about $8.75 billion and amounts to 4.93 percent of the Chinese bank's stock.
American Express' holding represents 0.38 percent of ICBC's outstanding shares. American Express can sell half its shares on April 28 and the other half on Oct. 20, 2009. The credit card company said it will consider selling its stake at some point after the lockup period, depending on market conditions. American Express will look to minimize the market impact and maximize proceeds from the sale, potentially through a private deal with investors.
ICBC and American Express intend to continue their partnership, they said.
Goldman, German insurer Allianz <ALVG.DE> and American Express invested $3.78 billion in ICBC in 2006, giving the consortium a total stake of about 9 percent. (Reporting by Dan Wilchins, editing by Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace) ((Reuters Messaging: dan.wilchins.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6320)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134
