Citi announced on Tuesday that it has completed the sale of its Malaysia and Thailand retail banking and consumer credit card businesses to United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) subsidiaries, which includes the transfer of over 3,000 related staff.
The move marks the completion and closing of the third and fourth divestitures of Citi’s restructuring.
The transaction is expected to result in a capital benefit to Citi of over US$1billion.
Citi and UOB first announced the transaction on January 14, 2022, as part of a broader sale agreement covering consumer banking across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia and excluding the bank’s institutional businesses. As previously disclosed, the sales of the Vietnam and Indonesia consumer businesses are expected to be completed in 2023.
Since announcing as part of its strategic refresh that Citi intends to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, sales agreements have been signed in nine markets. Transactions have now closed in four markets including Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. Citi is also in the process of winding down consumer banking in South Korea and Russia.
Asia Pacific CEO Peter Babej said, “Today’s announcement is positive for clients, colleagues, and our firm. Citi remains deeply committed to Malaysia and Thailand and we will invest further in both markets across our leading institutional franchise to support clients locally and where they do business across Citi’s network. We thank former employees and customers for their commitment and support and wish them continued success in the future.”
Source: The Nation