KUALA LUMPUR: Citi has completed the sale of Citi's Malaysia and Thailand retail banking and consumer credit card businesses to United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) subsidiaries, which includes the transfer of over 3,000 related staff.
In a statement, the bank said the transaction is expected to result in a regulatory capital benefit to Citi of approximately US$1 billion.
Citi Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Usman Ahmed said the company was pleased to have completed the divestiture whilst continuing to seamlessly serve its clients and maintain full operations over the last several months of execution.
"We are deeply grateful to our clients and colleagues for their support and confidence. Malaysia remains a key market for Citi and we are focused on growing our institutional clients franchise, as well as our Citi Solutions Centers in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, from where we service over 50 countries around the world," he said.
Citi Asia Pacific CEO Peter Babej said the announcement was positive for its clients, colleagues and the firm.
"Citi remains deeply committed to Malaysia and Thailand. We will invest further in markets across our leading institutional franchise to support clients locally and where they do business across Citi's network.
"We thank former employees and customers for their commitment and support and wish them continued success in the future," he said.
Citi and UOB first announced the transaction on January 14, 2022, as part of a broader sale agreement covering consumer banking across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, excluding the bank's institutional businesses.
The sales of the Vietnam and Indonesia consumer businesses are expected to be completed in 2023.
Since announcing as part of its strategic refresh that Citi intends to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, the bank said sales agreements were signed in nine markets.
Transactions have closed in four markets, including Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.
Citi is also in the process of winding down consumer banking in South Korea and Russia.
"With these completed sales, we have divested four consumer businesses and are making swift and strong headway in delivering on our firm's strategy refresh.
"We are confident about the future our former employees and clients will have as part of UOB and look forward to seeing them prosper," said Citi legacy franchises CEO Titi Cole.