Citi to exit consumer and small business banking in Mexico

Citi has announced that it intends to exit the consumer, small business and middle market banking operations of Citibanamex in Mexico.

The move comes as part of a strategic refresh that will see just locally-licensed banking business in Mexico through its Global Institutional Clients Group.

Citi CEO, Jane Fraser, said that the decision to exit the businesses in Mexico enables it to “direct resources to opportunities aligned with our core strengths and competitive advantages”.

She added: “Mexico is a priority market for Citi – that will not change. We expect Mexico to be a major recipient of global investment and trade flows in the years ahead, and we are confident about the country’s trajectory.

“Citi is uniquely positioned to support cross-border capital markets activity and trade flows in and out of Mexico for our institutional clients and we will continue to make material investments in our institutional operations and market-leading hub there.”

Citi’s planned divestitures of its consumer businesses across Mexico, Asia and Europe are aligned with the repositioning of its consumer operations to focus on wealth centers globally as well as payments and lending and a targeted retail presence in the US.

Citi’s chief financial officer, Mark Mason, said that the company will execute a “targeted consumer strategy, double down in wealth, and focus on our higher-returning institutional businesses”.

He added: “Our emphasis is on opportunities where our global network uniquely positions us to support clients who are growing and facing an ever-changing set of complex dynamics around the world.”

The businesses in the intended exit include the Mexico consumer and small business banking operations, reported as part of Citi’s Global Consumer Banking segment, as well as the Mexico middle market banking business, reported in Citi’s Institutional Clients Group segment.

The Mexico consumer and small business banking operations included in the intended exit represent the entirety of the Latin America Global Consumer Banking unit.

In the first three quarters of 2021, the businesses Citi intends to exit together accounted for approximately $3.5 billion in revenue, $1.2 billion in earnings before tax, $44 billion in assets, and $4 billion in average allocated TCE.