(AFP Photo)
Citibank Egypt is still studying banks’ offers to buy its consumer business portfolio, the bank’s Vice President Lamise Negm told Daily News Egypt Saturday.
Commenting on media reports saying that Citibank received offers from 9 banks operating on the Egyptian market, Negm said the number is not accurate and that “it is too early to say”.
In October 2014, Citigroup announced it intends to exit its consumer business in Egypt, along with its businesses in 10 other countries, as part of the company’s strategic actions to accelerate the transformation of Global Consumer Banking (GCB).
It said that these steps will focus on the markets that have the “greatest scale and growth potential”.
“This strategic action is consistent with Citi’s global strategy of allocating resources to higher return opportunities,” said General Manager of Citi Egypt Nadir Shaikh. “Egypt is an important market for Citi which will continue to serve clients of its institutional businesses.”
“During this time, there will be no change in the way Citi serves its consumer banking customers. Consumer operations, including all branches and offices, will continue to operate as they do today,” Shaikh added.
Shaikh added that Citi’s Institutional Clients Group will continue to operate in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions, including Egypt.
Citigroup said that the affected businesses include consumer franchises in Costa Rica, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, and the consumer finance business in Korea.
The move came despite the American bank registering $3.4bn net income during the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, an increase from $3.2bn in the same quarter in 2013.
