By Elaine Yu and Matthew Thomas
Citigroup is in talks to sell its retail-wealth business in China to British rival HSBC, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The deal, which is likely to be announced next month, is part of Citi’s broader exit from consumer banking outside of its home market. The U.S. bank had announced that it was scaling back at overseas retail banking business in 2021, and said last year that it would wind down the consumer-banking business in China.
The retail-wealth segment in China includes customers with assets between $100,000 and $1 million. Citi’s China retail wealth deposits and assets under management are currently between $3 billion and $4 billion, and the sale will affect about 400 employees in China, who are expected to transfer to HSBC, said the person.
The potential HSBC deal was first reported by Reuters on Thursday.
HSBC, Hong Kong’s biggest lender, had pledged to spend more than $3.5 billion two years ago to build its Asian wealth business over the next five years. The bank has since gone on a hiring spree, including the recruitment of 1,400 wealth managers in mainland China to sell insurance and advise on investments through its branchless venture in the country known as Pinnacle.
Citi had earlier this month said that it will simplify its international structure, removing some regional jobs, as Chief Executive Jane Fraser shakes up its executive ranks and sheds overlapping roles.
The U.S. bank hired Andy Sieg, a former Merrill Lynch banker, to run its global wealth business earlier this year. Wealth management has become a key focus for Fraser since she became CEO more than two years ago.
Write to Elaine Yu at [email protected]
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