We will take the path that is best for shareholders”
Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup
The American Citigroup has already closed the sale of its businesses in different markets that it had announced. In Mexico, the divestiture process of its subsidiary Banamex, which was announced in January 2022, remains undefined.
During the presentation of financial results for the first quarter of 2023, the US bank reported that the sale of its consumer banking and corporate businesses in Mexico continues, and the two divestiture options are also maintained: it can be through a direct sale, or by an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the stock market.
“We are in a very active dialogue right now in Mexico (…) we will continue a dual path, both the sale and an Initial Public Offering, so we will have an exit strategy either way and we will take the path that is best for us. shareholders. We have a tremendous amount of work underway in Mexico,” said Jane Fraser, global head of Citigroup.
In a conference, he highlighted the solid performance of the franchise in Mexico, which is partly explained by the fact that the country has benefited from the dynamics that are being experienced globally due to the relocation of supply chains.
Mark Mason, Citigroup’s CFO, emphasized that the two divestiture options for its subsidiary in Mexico remain, although he specified that an IPO would take longer.
“Both for a private sale and for an IPO, we will choose the best path for shareholders, and the IPO is likely to take longer (…) the outcome we choose will be the best for our shareholders, clients and employees,” he mentioned.
Divestment in seven markets
When Citigroup announced that it would exit the consumer and corporate banking businesses in Mexico, it explained that this was part of its strategy to divest businesses in different markets.
In this sense, on Friday he specified that, to date, it has already left seven of the nine markets that it had established.
The most recent are India and Vietnam, where it completed the sale of its consumer businesses in the recently concluded quarter.
Meanwhile, the other countries in which it has already completed the sale of its businesses throughout 2022 are: Australia, the Philippines, Bahrain, Thailand and Malaysia.
Taiwan and Indonesia remain pending, where the processes are expected to close during 2023. While in Russia and Korea, significant progress is being made.
