Citigroup to pursue IPO of Banamex retail operations; to resume buybacks (NYSE:C)

Michael M. Santiago

Citigroup (NYSE:C) said Wednesday it plans to spin off its retail and small and mid-market banking operations in Mexico through an initial public offering rather than sell the Banamex unit outright. Banamex’s institutional business will remain part of Citi (C).

Last year, Citi management had said it would divest its consumer banking business in Mexico through either a sale or an IPO. Earlier this month, the company was reported to be close to a deal to sell its retail operations to Grupo Mexico for ~$ 7B.

“After careful consideration, we concluded the optimal path to maximizing the value of Banamex for our shareholders and advancing our goal to simplify our firm is to pivot from our dual path approach to focus solely on an IPO of the business,” CEO Jane Fraser said.

Citi (C) expects that the separation of the institutional busineses from the rest of Banamex will be completed in H2 2024 and the IPO of the retail, small and mid-sized business operations will take place in 2025.

The plan allows Citigroup (C) to resume a “modest level” of share buybacks this quarter, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said. After that, the company will access stock buybacks on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

Citi (C) stock slipped 1.3% in Wednesday premarket trading.

Banamex will continue to be reported as part of its parent’s operations until ownership falls below a 50% stake, at which time the business will be deconsolidated from Citi’s (C) results.

Soon after Fraser became CEO in 2021, the company had drafted a plan to exit 13 consumer banking markets in order to focus on four wealth centers — Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and London. In early 2022, Citi (C) added Mexico to that plan.