Bloomberg News quoted insiders in a report on December 1 as saying that Union Bank of the Philippines has been designated by Citibank as the latter’s preferred bidder for the consumer banking sector in the Philippines. The news came after Citibank said in April this year that it would withdraw from the retail banking market in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region and sell its respective assets, and only retained its regional private banking division in Singapore. In the Philippines, Citigroup and United Bank, the parent company of Citibank, plan to continue negotiations on the terms of a potential transaction, with the goal of…
Union Bank of the Philippines has been designated by Citibank as the latter’s preferred bidder for the consumer banking sector in the Philippines. Bloomberg News Insiders were quoted in a report on December 1.
This news was released after Citibank returned in April this year. Said It will withdraw from Southeast Asia and the broader Asia Pacific retail banking market and sell its assets, leaving only its regional private banking sector in Singapore.
The report said that in the Philippines, Citibank’s parent company Citigroup and United Bank plan to continue negotiations on the terms of a potential transaction, with the goal of reaching an agreement in the next few weeks, adding that the sale may evaluate Citibank’s retail business. Philippine assets. People familiar with the matter said that operating costs are about $1 billion.
The planned sale has attracted bids from other local financial institutions, including BDO Unibank, Metrobank and Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Withdraw from retail banking in 13 markets
Citigroup announced that it will withdraw from consumer banking in 13 countries, most of which are in the Asia-Pacific region, including Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, South Korea and Taiwan, and Australia. This means that individuals either lose their personal accounts and bank cards in the bank on a date that has not yet been announced, or transfer them to the bank that takes over the assets according to their wishes.
As a reason, Citigroup stated that it is seeking to focus on more profitable business areas, such as investment banking, while tying its wealth franchise rights in the centres of Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Dubai.
One of the markets hit hard by this withdrawal is Thailand. Citibank started operations in Thailand in 1967 and currently provides corporate and consumer banking solutions to more than 1 million customers, making it the country’s largest foreign bank.
According to reports, Thailand’s second largest bank Kasikornbank or KBank is interested in acquiring Citibank Thailand, but according to the CEO of KBank, no decision has yet been made.
Singapore and Japanese banks as potential bidders for the entire package
Singapore’s DBS Group and United Overseas Bank have expressed interest in selling Citigroup’s overall assets in 13 markets, and Citibank can receive a total of approximately US$6 billion from them.
The banks of Japan Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, as well as the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank, are considered other potential bidders. In South Korea, OK Financial Group and DGB Financial Group are candidates for the acquisition of a local retail subsidiary of Citibank.
