Citigroup Retail Exit Not To Be Fire Sale In India
Citigroup in India is planning to sell its retail business off and top banking companies are already eyeing the business. In race are HDFC, Axis bank, Induslnd Bank and Kotak Mahindra.
Even the Singapore-based DBS Bank is amongst the contenders to take over Citibank’s estimated $2 billion worth retail business. Citigroup has seen its profits spiraling since April 2021 and had decided to exit the retail segment from 13 countries across Asia and Europe including India.
They are going to be focusing more on their presence in the institutional business from now on, a formal statement by the company confirms in the media.
Citibank started its operations in India way back in 1902. As of March 2020, it had 2.9 million retail customers with 1.2 million bank accounts and 2.2 million credit card accounts too. Its presence spread across 35 branches with advance aggregating to Rs. 66507 crore and deposits worth Rs. 157,869 crores.
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The Citi spokesperson has further confirmed, When asked about the prospective buyers, a Citi spokesperson told ET, “We have seen strong interest in our consumer business… As with deals of this nature, the likely transaction process will customarily take place over several months and will require interaction with a wide range of interested buyers.”
Insider information says that the retail franchise of the India business is looking at cutting a better deal for its credit card business as it is a high-grossing book. Ironically, the retail business in India was generating annual revenue of nearly a billion US dollars.
Citi’s consumer business, therefore, is seen to be a large contributor; about a third to the overall India business in terms of profitability. The Indian retail basket includes credit cards, deposit accounts, wealth management and its mortgage portfolio. Overall, Citibank’s India unit had a market share of advances and deposits of 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively.
