
Citibank may announce the sale of its India consumer business to Axis Bank on March 30, according to CNBC-TV18. According to the report, the deal size is expected to be around $2 billion, with milestone payments. It includes Citi’s 2.6 million credit card holders as customers.
Furthermore, as part of the agreement, Citibank will continue to service customers during the integration period to ensure a smooth transition and no inconvenience to customers. While Citi declined to comment, Axis Bank announced that a press conference on strategic business development will be held after market hours today.
Citibank announced last year that it would exit its consumer franchises in 13 markets, including India, to refocus on its more profitable institutional and wealth management businesses. Its Indian clientele banking business comprises credit cards, home loans and retail banking.
Axis Bank emerged as the lead buyer, outbidding competitors such as Kotak, another private lender that was reported “more aggressive” and submitted a bid lower than Axis. Before making the final decision, other factors such as job security for current Citigroup employees, competition concerns, and others were considered.
The Wall Street behemoth operates 35 branches in India and employs nearly 4,000 people. It has approximately 2.5 million account holders and 1.2 million loan accounts. Citi has been in India for decades and was one of the first banks to introduce credit cards to Indians in 1987.
At 10:40 a.m., Axis Bank shares were trading 3.5 percent higher on the BSE, at Rs 763.80 per share, while the benchmark Sensex was at 58,554.97, up 611.32 points or 1.06 percent.