After Citi deal, Axis Bank to be the 4th largest bank in the country

Axis Bank is all ready to be positioned as the fourth largest bank in the country post the transaction with Citigroup. The bank has declared that it has bought Citigroup's consumer banking business in India for up to Rs 12,325 crore.

"It's a deal of a lifetime. Transaction of this nature comes in a life time and we feel the price, which makes sense," said Amitabh Chaudhry, Chief Executive Officer of Axis Bank.

Chaudhry said that two years ago Axis Bank launched its Burgundy debit card and its growing, and Citi business will help scale the business up. He also added that Axis will be able to cross sell much better after this deal goes through.

"We welcome Citi's employees as Axis family members. We expect the transaction to complete in next 9-12 months, subject to regulatory approvals. This transaction will provide the best affluent transaction to its customers. We will also become the 3rd largest wealth platform in India," Chaudhry said during the press conference.

The bank is expecting that the transaction will be closed in 9-12 months, and around 3,600 Citi employees will be transferred to Axis Bank. Citi expects the release of about $800 million of allocated tangible common equity after the deal.

On one side, there will be a cost to embrace global bank customers but on the other side, there will be a cost save because certain global things will go away, Chaudhry said.

The sale follows a months-long auction process, and includes a credit-card business with around 2.6 million cardholders, and sale excludes Citi's institutional client businesses in India.