Bank of America Corp. (BAC) may sell some of its $21 billion stake in China Construction Bank Corp. (939) to bolster capital before new international standards take effect, said three people briefed on the plans.

Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender by assets, wants to keep about half its CCB shares so it can remain a strategic investor in the world’s second-biggest bank by market value, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private. CCB led declines among Hong Kong-listed Chinese banks today.

“This is obviously a forced sale -- it’s a big chunk of a valued enterprise in an attractive place in the world,” said Greg Donaldson, chairman of Evansville, Indiana-based Donaldson Capital Management, with $465 million in assets, including Bank of America shares. “It’s a relatively poor time to be selling because the Chinese stock market hasn’t done well recently.”