Global Banks Vie for Citi’s Asia Consumer Business

Two of Singapore’s «big three» lenders are said to be interested in acquiring parts of Citi’s consumer business, which is downsizing worldwide.

DBS Group, OCBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Standard Chartered intend to bid parts of the bank’s consumer banking portfolios and brances in Asia, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sale process will start within a couple of weeks, the sources said. The businesses Citi is exiting had $82 billion in total assets and were allocated $7 billion in tangible common equity last year, Citi said.

Last week, Citi announced its intention to exit its consumer banking business in 13 markets, 10 of which are in Asia: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The bank said it intends to «double down on wealth» as it focuses its consumer banking franchise in Asia and EMEA solely through its four wealth centers: Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, and London.

DBS, which operates a fully owned subsidiary in India, is said to be interested in Citi’s business there, which includes retail deposits, mortgages and credit cards. Standard Chartered and local lenders Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank are also said to be interested, which SBI Cards and Payment Services is eyeing Citi’s credit card portfolio there.

DBS has always been open to exploring sensible bolt-on opportunities in markets where we have a consumer banking franchise (China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan), a bank spokesperson said.