MANAMA: Citigroup Inc has agreed to promote its consumer-banking operations in Bahrain to Ahli United Financial institution (AUB) BSC as a part of the lender’s continued push to simplify.
The transaction contains Citigroup’s retail-banking, credit-card and unsecured-lending companies, and excludes the agency’s institutional companies, in line with an announcement.
New York-based Citigroup mentioned the deal is anticipated to shut by the second half of the yr, noting that Ahli United Financial institution was chosen as a part of a aggressive public sale course of.
“We’re assured AUB will present glorious alternatives for our prospects and workers,” Michel Sawaya, Citigroup’s nation officer for Bahrain, mentioned within the assertion.
“For Citi, this transaction will allow extra funding in our strategic focus areas, together with our institutional companies in Bahrain.”
Citigroup is searching for to get rid of retail banking operations in additional than a dozen nations throughout the Asia-Pacific area in addition to in Europe and the Center East, and the Bahrain deal marks the ninth introduced sale as a part of that course of.
In all, these offers are anticipated to unencumber about US$7bil (RM29.5bil) in allotted tangible widespread fairness over time.
Citigroup debuted its consumer-banking arm in Bahrain in 1989 and now has 14 automated teller machines unfold throughout the dominion.
In all, Citigroup has about 500 workers unfold throughout Bahrain, and is taken into account one of many high credit-card issuers available in the market. — Bloomberg