The American bank Citigroup will launch its commercial banking services in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt due to the presence of large multinationals in these countries.
“We will be in the markets with a caveat that we are not going to go to very small or small businesses, but rather focus on bringing the Citi network to existing customers with a presence in multiple countries,” said said Ebru Pakcan, managing director of Citigroup’s EMEA emerging markets cluster, in an interview in Dubai.
The bank recently decided to withdraw from consumer, small business and medium-sized business banking in 13 countries. In Asia, Citigroup Inc. has agreed to sell its consumer banking franchises in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB). The agreement includes retail banking and credit card activities. Singapore-headquartered UOB will pay Citigroup the net assets of the businesses to be acquired, plus a premium of $690 million, the U.S. bank said.
Citi’s new strategy focuses on the development of its booming wealth management branch, particularly in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and London. “We are working on the development strategy around wealth in the UAE. We’re talking about building space and planning where new recruits sit,” Pakcan said.