by Selina Lee
HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. bank Citigroup said on Monday it had completed the sale and relocation of its consumer business in Taiwan to Singapore’s DBS Group.
The retail businesses that have been relocated now include the retail banking, credit card, mortgage and unsecured lending businesses, as well as the relocation of approximately 3,000 employees. The transaction is expected to provide $1.2 billion in capital previously committed under local regulatory requirements.
Citi’s institutional businesses in Taiwan were excluded from the sale.
Citi signed sales agreements for consumer units in nine markets and closed sales in seven other markets in addition to Taiwan: Australia, Bahrain, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The lender plans to complete the sale of its ninth consumer unit in Indonesia later this year.
Citi, in a major strategic shift, said it plans to exit retail banking across 14 markets globally.
(Reporting by Selina Lee; Editing by Tom Hogg)