(Alliance News) - Citigroup Inc on Thursday revealed plans to sell its consumer banking franchises in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to Singaporean bank UOB.
The deal includes Citi's retail banking and credit card businesses but excludes the bank's institutional businesses in all four countries.
UOB will pay the New York-based bank cash for the net assets of the acquired businesses, plus a premium of SGD915 million or around USD690 million.
Upon closing, Citi said it expects the deal to release around USD1.2 billion of common equity, as well as an increase to common equity of over USD200 million. Citi's exit from its consumer franchises in 13 markets across Asia Pacific and EMEA is expected to release around USD7 billion of common equity over time.
It is estimated that completion of the sale will take place between mid-2022 and early 2024, depending on the progress of the regulatory approval process.
Citi Chief Finance Officer Mark Mason said: "The sale of these four consumer markets, along with our previously announced transactions, demonstrate our sense of urgency to execute our strategic refresh. We are committed to working in the best interests of our shareholders by focusing our resources on businesses that can deliver growth, as well as increasing the capital we return to shareholders over time."
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
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