ISTANBUL - Emirates NBD's talks to acquire Turkey's Denizbank continue and both sides are discussing the shareholder agreement now, Denizbank's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Hakan Ates made the comment to reporters at an event in Istanbul. He also said that all necessary transactions on the Denizbank side had been completed, without elaborating further.

Reuters reported last month that Emirates NBD could agree to buy Denizbank from Russia's Sberbank soon, after intense lobbying by Ates to convince President Tayyip Erdogan of the benefits of the potential $5.3 billion deal, despite a diplomatic rift.

(Reporting by Ebru Tuncay; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Daren Butler) ((david.dolan@tr.com; +90 212 350 7046; Reuters Messaging: david.dolan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))