Citi is eyeing for $6 bn from its retail units sale in 13 different markets

Citigroup Inc. is eyeing to fetch about US$6 billion from the sale of retail banking assets in 13 markets across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East and India.

The sale process for Australia is the furthest along and the preliminary interest for many of the assets has come mainly from local players, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. Exits from other markets, such as Southeast Asia and Poland, are at an earlier stage, the people said. The entire sales process is in its early stages, and the timeline and valuations could still change.

In terms of timing, look, we’re already getting going and there’s no dilly-dallying here,” Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser told analysts on a conference call last week. “We’ve begun the work.

Citigroup ultimately plans to exit retail-banking operations in Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, though the lender will continue to serve corporations and private-banking clients in markets it’s otherwise leaving. The moves are part of a bigger refresh of Citigroup’s strategy under Fraser, who took the helm in March.

These 13 markets contributed $4.2 billion in revenue in 2020, as per Citigroup. In India, Citigroup may reportedly sell its entire consumer portfolio in one go to a single player.

The decision to pursue exits for the other consumer businesses in these regions was of course difficult — each is a source of pride, with talented teams passionate about Citi and our customers,” Peter Babej, CEO of Citigroup’s Asia-Pacific region, said in a LinkedIn post.