Citigroup Close to Selling Another Chunk of Mexican Banking Operation

Banking giant Citigroup is reportedly on the verge of selling a 24% ownership stake in its Mexican retail banking division to investment firm Blackstone and other partners. This follows last year's sale of a 25% stake to a Mexican billionaire's company as Citi continues unwinding its international consumer banking operations.

Banking giant Citigroup appears ready to finalize another major sale of its Mexican retail banking division, according to a Bloomberg News report published Monday.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations tell Bloomberg that Citi is close to completing a deal that would transfer a 24% ownership stake in Grupo Financiero Banamex to an investment consortium led by Blackstone.

This potential transaction would build on Citi’s previous divestment move in late 2022, when the bank sold a 25% portion of Banamex to a company controlled by Mexican billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo and his family members.

When contacted about the Bloomberg report, Citigroup representatives refused to provide comment. Reuters was unable to confirm the details independently.

According to the report, the American banking institution is also in talks to distribute smaller ownership pieces – each representing less than 5% – to various companies and wealthy Mexican family investment offices. The potential buyers mentioned include General Atlantic, leadership from Grupo Televisa SAB, Brazil’s Banco BTG Pactual SA, Afore Sura, and the Mexican retirement fund operated by Colombia’s Sura Asset Management.

Should this deal move forward, it would represent another success for Citigroup’s ongoing efforts to shed its Banamex holdings after spending years searching for suitable buyers or acquisition partners.

The transaction would also continue Citi’s broader withdrawal from Latin American markets, where the institution previously maintained significant retail banking operations across Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Last December’s stake sale to Mexico’s Pardo, who assumed the role of Banamex chairman as part of that agreement, resulted in a $726 million goodwill impairment charge for Citigroup during the third quarter. Such charges typically occur when assets are sold for less than their recorded book value.

Citigroup originally acquired Banamex through a $12.5 billion purchase in 2001. The Mexican bank represents the final international consumer banking divestiture in CEO Jane Fraser’s organizational restructuring strategy unveiled in 2021. Under that plan, the bank pledged to exit 14 markets spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico.