Tag: citibank

Buying Citi assets can be a game-changer for Kotak, IndusInd faces constraints, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


The retail and credit card business put on the block by Citibank India are best fit for Kotak Mahindra Bank and DBS Bank, while for HDFC Bank it is still a good asset though not a game-changer, according to CLSA.

The brokerage house had estimated the value of Citi‘s business in India at $2-2.5 billion.

HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and DBS Bank have emerged as the top five contenders to take over Citi India’s retail business that includes, credit cards, mortgages, wealth management and deposits. The race will be narrowed down to three, with whom Citi would negotiate a higher value.

How they stack up

While IndusInd Bank has the size and valuation constraints to acquire such an asset, the operations can be a game changer for Kotak Mahindra Bank because it can add 20% to the bank’s current retail loans, it said. “For Kotak Bank, the business adds 20% to its current retail book and increases its card segment by 3x (times),” the brokerage said in a note. “It is also complementary to its affluent customer base and Kotak Bank’s premium valuation will aid it in a purchase.”

It said Citibank’s affluent retail business also fits well with DBS Bank India’s premium offerings and banking relationships. DBS Bank does not have a credit card business in India.

For HDFC Bank, the acquisition won’t be a game changer as it is only nearly 6% of the lender’s total book, it said, while for Axis it will be a valuable acquisition, but valuations would be constrained, it said.

What’s on offer?
Citi’s total assets In India at the end of FY20, including credit extended to Indian institutional clients from offshore Citi entities, stood at Rs 2.99 crore.

The consumer banking business, which includes cards and loans against property, would be around Rs 32,000 crore. It also has a huge amount of savings accounts built over the last few years, which has a lucrative liability book and also credit cards, in which it was the largest among foreign banks in India.

The bank also had Rs 27,911 crore of loans to agriculture, affordable housing renewable energy and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Of this, Rs 4,975 crore was to weaker sections, as part of Citi India’s priority sector lending obligations, results released last year showed.

Citi Bank has 2.8 million retail customers, 1.2 million bank accounts and nearly 2.6 million credit cards as of June.

Citi’s consumer business contributes about a third to the overall India business in terms of profitability, while total India business contributes 1.5% of profits to the global book. Overall, Citibank’s India unit had a market share of advances and deposits of 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively.

Citi credit cards
Buying Citi assets can be a game-changer for Kotak, IndusInd faces constraints

Citi started retail operations in India in 1985 and was among the pioneers of credit cards in the country. However, its share of credit cards has dropped from 13% to 6% now. Despite being the sixth-largest player in the space, Citi has the highest average spend on its card touching close to 2 lakh per card. The average spends per card for Citi is 1.4 times higher than the industry average, making it a profitable business for the bank in India. The other four major players have had nearly the same steady growth in spend per card at 11-12%.

Citibank’s outstanding credit cards as of February stood at 2.65 million, the largest among foreign banks in India, ahead of 1.46 million by Standard Chartered and 1.56 million by Amex. Citi India had 2.9 million retail customers with 1.2 million bank accounts as of March 2020.

At the end of March 2020, Citibank served 2.9 million retail customers with 1.2 million bank accounts and 2.2 million credit card accounts.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

CLSA, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Mumbai: The sale of Citibank’s India retail business is a good opportunity for existing banks to strengthen their affluent customer bases, said CLSA.

IndusInd Bank has the size and valuation constraints to acquire such an asset, while for HDFC Bank it is not a game-changer in terms of size but it is still a good asset, the brokerage said.

Citibank’s India retail business is up for sale as part of a global restructuring. On the block is the $3.5 billion retail asset book with a 4-6% market share of card or spending, sizeable home loan book and an affluent deposit base.

Reports suggest five banks including HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and DBS Bank have been shortlisted.

The brokerage said the size of Citi’s business is too large for IndusInd Bank and its valuation does not favour deal-making.

Valuations would be a constraint for Axis Bank as well although it would be a favourable acquisition.

Citi’s affluent retail business fits well with DBS Bank India’s premium offerings and banking relationships, said CLSA.

For HDFC Bank, the retail book size of Citibank is not a game-changer but for Kotak Mahindra Bank, the business adds 20% to its current retail book and increases its card segment by three times, said CLSA. It is also complementary to its affluent customer base and Kotak’s premium valuation will aid it in a purchase, said CLSA.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , ,

Ezetap, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Customers are increasingly preferring to pay through EMIs while buying high-value consumer items, as affordability has become a key factor in the post-pandemic scenario, payments solution provider Ezetap said on Thursday. Buying ability of consumers across the country has been significantly reduced due to the pandemic. They are either avoiding a single big payment or entirely skipping to buy any new item, Ezetap said.

This has impacted sales across brands and created a vast need for affordable solutions for customers across different sectors.

Ezetap has recorded a steep increase of 220 per cent in the transactional volume of equated monthly instalments (EMI) in July 2021, compared to February 2020. EMI volume as part of total transactions has increased to 18 per cent in the mobile and consumer durables segment, compared to 9 per cent in the pre-pandemic period of March 2020, it said.

“This indicates a growing inclination of consumers towards affordability solutions, which help increase their purchasing power. This also indicates that EMI or affordability presents a massive opportunity for brands to grow their sales across diverse product segments,” it added.

Delhi led metro cities with an increase of 258 per cent in total EMI volume followed by Bengaluru, clocking a growth of 206 per cent.

There has been a significant increase in the adoption of EMI transactions in non-metro cities with a combined contribution of 59 per cent in the total EMI volumes. Ahmedabad and Pune registered growth figures of 230 per cent and 210 per cent, respectively.

“This shows that affordability solutions play a positive role in impacting sales…This may be partially attributed to the fact that a large portion of the working population have moved back to their hometowns due to work from home models, and have contributed to EMI sales in their respective hometowns” it added.

According to Ezetap, a surge in debit card EMIs is one of the main reasons behind the steep increase in such transactions and it has increased significantly with nearly 25 per cent contribution in the total EMI volumes.

Through a tie-up with several banks, Ezetap offers instant EMIs via credit and debit card. The average ticket size of EMI transactions recorded by Ezetap has increased from Rs 18,000 in February 2020, to Rs 32,000 in July 2021.

In a move to expand the benefits of EMIs, Ezetap has also tied up with ZestMoney to provide NBFC EMIs.

Another factor for large-scale uptake of EMIs is no-cost EMIs and vouchers available to customers by various brands. Nearly 50 per cent of Ezetap EMI transaction volume can be attributed to no-cost brand EMIs, it said.

On the mobile and consumer durable space, there is at least one card offer being rolled out by various brands to drive more sales. Ezetap has also partnered with Xiaomi to provide EMIs to customers.

Customers are avoiding bulk payments and preferring affordable payment options to reduce the monetary burden, and some non-metro cities have growth of over 200 per cent in EMI transactions, Byas Nambisan, CEO, Ezetap, said.

“We have been able to reduce the transaction time by nearly 80 per cent and eliminate the manual errors with EMI integrated into the merchant’s billing POS. We will continue our efforts to provide the retail businesses with robust and integrated Buy Now Pay Later solutions, like EMIs, to improve the purchasing power of their end customers,” he said.

Ezetap has forged tie-ups with banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank, State Bank of India, American Express, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank. PTI KPM KPM BAL BAL



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Foreign banks lose card market share, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Foreign banks have seen their share of credit cards come down by a third in the last three years. In terms of value of transactions, their share has halved as that of private and public sector banks have grown.

According to data released by the RBI, foreign banks had 57 lakh credit cards outstanding as of March 2018. At that time, there were 3.8 crore credit cards in India, which gave the multinationals a market share of 15%. However, despite losing market share, the foreign banks had significant clout because of the higher value of transactions by their customers who spent more than the average cardholder. In 2018, the foreign banks had monthly card spends of Rs 10,380 crore — a 23.4% share.

Fast forward to March 2021, when the total market expanded to 6.2 crore cards while the number of cards issued by foreign banks stood at 66 lakhs, reflecting a market share of nearly 11%. It is not just in the number of cards that the multinationals have been losing ground. In terms of value of transactions too, foreign banks have a market share of 11.8% in the Rs 72,372-crore monthly volume.

While private banks have consolidated their market share in the card space, increasing their share from 63% to 66%, public sector banks have grown from 21.6% to 23.2% in three years. State Bank of India accounts for almost 80% of all public sector banks. Overall, SBI has 19% of the credit card market, which is still behind the 24% share of HDFC Bank.In global banks, four dominate the credit card space — Citi, Amex, StanChart and HSBC. These MNC banks have also played a pioneering role in the card business in India and they dominated the market in the ’90s. Citi’s decision to exit its retail business in India could further reduce share of foreign banks, should the portfolio be taken by a local player. Additionally, American Express faces a freeze on on-boarding new customers due to data-localisation norms even as more private banks are stepping in.

In 2018, American Express had 3% of the credit card market in terms of number of customers. But it accounted for 10% of all spending by credit card customers in India. In 2021, their share of cards shrunk to 2.5%, while the share of spending declined to 4%. Citibank, which had a 7% share of cards and 9% share of spend, saw these fall to 4% and 6%, respectively. HSBC has held ground better than others with a market share of 1.4% as of March 2021 (1.5% in ’18) and retaining its 1% share of total spend.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Banks discourage crypto customers with account suspension warnings, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


After putting curbs on crypto exchanges banks have trained guns on their customers crypto transactions.

Banks including HDFC Bank and State Bank of India have sent official notices to many customers warning them of curbs, including permanent closure of accounts.

Lenders are asking customers to clarify the nature of transactions and warning credit card users that transactions of virtual currency will lead to suspension/cancellation of card.

Though there is no order by the RBI, lenders are opting to tread on the side of caution.

While trading in cryptocurrency is not illegal as per existing Indian laws, individual institutions can enforce their terms based on their risk assessment.

Exchanges evaluating options

Crypto exchanges are currently evaluating their options and are hoping to resolve the matter with a dialogue instead of raising the matter in court again.

Last week, the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council also sent representation to various government stakeholders to put forward the industry’s case for banking access, according to a person privy to the matter.

Indian crypto exchanges, which have seen record-breaking transaction volume and customer sign-ups in recent months, are evaluating their options, including ways to seek clarification from the court and asking for additional supplemental material based on the verdict.

In May 2020, the co-founder of crypto exchange Unocoin had filed an RTI query questioning whether the RBI had prohibited banks from providing accounts to crypto exchange companies or crypto traders.

There is no prohibition on banks providing accounts to traders dealing with virtual currencies, the Reserve Bank of India told cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin then.

The crackdown

Since early May, leading banks, notably private sector lenders ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, have asked payment gateway partners to stop processing such transactions.

Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Citibank, and others are limiting their exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

Banks, the industry sources said, have stopped issuing merchant IDs to payment gateways, and have asked these intermediaries to tighten scrutiny while dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges in India.

The issue started in late February and according to experts, the recent surge in the market, dogecoin frenzy and advertisements by crypto exchanges during IPL led to a fresh clampdown on the cryptocurrency.

Regulator against it

According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India is informally urging lenders to cut ties with cryptocurrency exchanges and traders as the highly speculative market booms, despite a Supreme Court ruling that banks can work with the industry.

The guidance comes as the Indian government is drafting a law to ban cryptocurrencies and penalise anyone dealing in them, which would be among the most sweeping crackdowns on the new investing fad in the world. But with the Covid crisis engulfing the country, no one is sure when such a bill may be passed, adding to investors` confusion.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018 had forbidden banks from dealing in all transactions related to bitcoin and other such assets. That diktat was challenged by the crypto exchanges and in March 2020, India`s top court overturned the RBI ban and allowed lenders to extend banking facilities to them.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Have IPL ads led to a fresh clampdown on Indian crypto exchanges?, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


When dogecoin turned to be the new sensation on the crypto street, many Indian investors could just marvel at the image of the dog on the coin, but not buy it.

The reason was their purchases are not going through as some banks have directed payment gateways not to process cryptocurrency­related transactions.

Since early this month, leading banks, notably private sector lenders ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, have asked payment gateway partners to stop processing such transactions.

Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Citibank, and others are limiting their exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

Banks, the industry sources said, have stopped issuing merchant IDs to payment gateways, and have asked these intermediaries to tighten scrutiny while dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges in India.

The issue started in late February and according to experts, the recent surge in the market, dogecoin frenzy and advertisements by crypto exchanges during IPL led to a fresh clampdown on the cryptocurrency.

The aggressive marketing push by crypto exchanges on TV during the IPL, OTT channels and through social media influencers has caused the regulator to clamp down as the industry is not licensed in India.

Dogecoin trading volumes from India have more than trebled since April and platforms have witnessed record-breaking transaction volumes.

Regulator against it

According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India, is informally urging lenders to cut ties with cryptocurrency exchanges and traders as the highly speculative market booms, despite a Supreme Court ruling that banks can work with the industry.

The guidance comes as the Indian government is drafting a law to ban cryptocurrencies and penalise anyone dealing in them, which would be among the most sweeping crackdowns on the new investing fad in the world. But with the COVID-19 crisis engulfing the country, no one is sure when such a bill may be passed, adding to investors` confusion.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018 had forbidden banks from dealing in all transactions related to bitcoin and other such assets. That diktat was challenged by the crypto exchanges and in March 2020, India`s top court overturned the RBI ban and allowed lenders to extend banking facilities to them.

With investors continuing to rush into the hot new asset class, however, regulators appear to be gearing up for another try.

Earlier this year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that they have “major concerns (around crypto) from the financial stability angle.”.

Growing frenzy

Thousands of new users are piling into the system every day at a time when the prices of major digital currencies have been on the rise. There are over 10 million crypto investors in India with total holdings of over Rs 10,000 crore, according to industry estimates. No official data is available.

Crypto platforms, for their part, are in the process of sending a communication to all major banks about the Supreme Court ruling of February 2020 that revoked the banking ban and declared that the central bank cannot issue any formal guidelines or directly regulate these exchanges.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

RBI tells lenders to re-consider ties with crypto exchanges, traders, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


India’s central bank is informally urging lenders to cut ties with cryptocurrency exchanges and traders as the highly speculative market booms, despite a Supreme Court ruling that banks can work with the industry, three sources told Reuters

The guidance comes as India is crafting a law to ban cryptocurrencies and penalize anyone dealing in them, which would be among the most sweeping crackdowns on the new investing fad in the world. But with the COVID-19 crisis engulfing the country, no one is sure when such a bill may be passed, adding to investors’ confusion.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018 had forbidden banks from dealing in all transactions related to bitcoin and other such assets. That diktat was challenged by the crypto exchanges and in March 2020, India’s top court overturned the RBI ban and allowed lenders to extend banking facilities to them.

With investors continuing to rush into the hot new asset class, however, regulators appear to be gearing up for another try.

Thousands of new users are piling into the system every day at a time when the prices of major digital currencies have been on the rise. There are over 10 million crypto investors in India with total holdings of over 100 billion rupees ($1.36 billion), according to industry estimates. No official data is available.

“The regulator has been unofficially asking us that why are we dealing in such business when it is ultra speculative. A lot of money flows overseas via this trade which the RBI is not comfortable with as it may lead to money laundering,” said a senior executive at one of the banks which was contacted.

RBI did not respond to a request for comment.

Private lender ICICI Bank has already asked payment service companies that it works with to stop all crypto-related payment transactions, three sources said, while other lenders are also following suit.

ICICI Bank did not respond to an email seeking comment.

None of the sources wanted to be identified as the discussions with RBI were private and no official order has been issued yet.

“Even though the discussions are informal that is enough. No one wants to go against the regulator,” said another source.

The central bank has often voiced its apprehension about digital currencies. Earlier this year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that they have “major concerns (around crypto) from the financial stability angle.”.

THE CRYPTO CONUNDRUM
With Indian banks increasingly wary of dealing with them, crypto exchanges are scrambling to find new business partners.

Axis Bank, Citibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and others are limiting their exposure to the cryptocurrency market, sources said.

“Axis Bank has taken a fairly negative stance against crypto. They are citing internal policy and risk measures and have stopped transactions with crypto exchanges,” said the CEO of a global crypto exchange with presence in India.

IndusInd Bank is also in the process of stopping all crypto-related transasaction, said two sources.

Axis, Kotak and IndusInd did not reply to an email seeking comment while Citibank declined to comment.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Will Citi consumer biz sale fetch premium amid Covid uncertainty?, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Citi‘s decision to exit 10 Asia-Pacific markets including India was an impact of the accelerated disruption caused by the Covid 19 pandemic which has forced large banks to refocus management bandwidth and capital across the globe.

The disruption caused by Covid has forced all banks to realign their strategy as building a localised retail model especially in India where phyigital is emerging, is tough. Also, there is competition from new lenders like Bandhan and IDFC First and small finance banks.

“We believe our capital, investment dollars, and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia,” said Jane Fraser, CEO at Citi, while announcing the shutdown of consumer banking business in Asia including in India.

With consumer business being very competitive with the lender having to invest in people, technology and process.

India consumer business

Macquarie Research has valued Citibank’s India retail business at around $2 billion, based on their Basel III disclosures in the country. This makes India the most valuable business among the 10 markets in the Asia-Pacific where Citi plans to exit consumer business. These 10 markets

are collectively valued between $6.3 billion and $8 billion by Macquarie.

According to a report by the Australian bank, going by SBI Card’s valuation, Citi’s 2.7 million cards would imply a figure of $2.7 billion. “This is above the top end of our valuation… To the extent that a single buyer is able to purchase multiple businesses at once, we would expect some sort of valuation discount in order to expedite Citi’s exit,” the report said.

“As the deal does not come with bank licences nor distribution, the sale is likely to take place in fragments. Across the region, there are very few banks who have the requisite footprint to bolt-on all of Citi’s various retail businesses,” the report had said.

The report identifies DBS, OCBC and StanChart as possible cross-border buyers, but is uncertain about HSBC. Besides the 10 Asia-Pacific markets, Citi announced its plans to exit consumer banking from three other markets — the Philippines, Poland and Russia. A Bloomberg report quoted a Citi official stating that the bank was looking to sell its entire operations in India in one go.

“We have always been open to exploring sensible bolt-on opportunities in markets where we have a consumer banking franchise and where we can overlay our digital capabilities to serve our customers better,” a representative for DBS told Bloomberg.

The reasons for exit

Also, due to regulations, Citibank was not able to build scale in consumer banking. To be sure, RBI has allowed foreign banks to set up branches or acquisitions if they shift from the current branch model to wholly-owned subsidiary model. DBS India shifted to the subsidiary model and has expanded hugely with the acquisition of Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

Citi has expanded its retail business in the early 2000s and was among the pioneers of corporate sector salary business with its Suvidha accounts, but was hit after the 2008 financial crisis globally, which saw the break up of the bank. It was then steered out of the crisis by Indian born CEO Vikram Pandit.

Citi India, which operates as a branch of the global giant, has a balance sheet size of Rs 2.18 lakh crore. HSBC with a balance sheet size of Rs 2.11 lakh crore and Standard Chartered with Rs 1.84 lakh crore in 2019-20.



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , , ,

HSBC bets on digital growth in India as Citi, FirstRand wind up, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Amid Citibank and FirstRand Bank shutting down India operations, HSBC, one of the biggest foreign bank in India stays bullish.

The bank which posted $1 billion in profits in 12019 and 2020, has retained its growth forecasts for India despite the second wave of Covid.

While the bank rationalised its branch operations in India a few years earlier it grew business through digital channels. It sees a substantial part of its banking activities eventually moving towards digital, self-serve models.

HSBC’s number of customers has increased 37% since December 2017 to 10.5 lakh in December 2020. The bank’s pre-tax profits from India have been over $1 billion for 2019 and 2020.

Local linkage

HSBC has the advantage of having a strong presence in countries where the Indian diaspora is predominant. This includes the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada and the US. As a result, it has been able to target persons of Indian origin as well as Indians looking to invest in these markets or move there for studies.

It sees government measures like reduction in the corporate tax rate, production-linked incentives and the disinvestment plan pushing inward investment in India. Transaction banking, covering cash management, custody, trade and foreign exchange is the focus area for the bank. It also sees a tremendous opportunity for banks to partner with fintech in specific segments.

Despite the second wave, HSBC research has retained its growth forecast of 11.2% for FY22.

Focus on digitalisation

Recently the bank has partnered with Google Pay for tokenisation on its credit card portfolio.

The move is in line with the bank’s ongoing endeavour towards enhanced security and convenience for its card holders.

HSBC India on Thursday announced that it has collaborated with Google Pay (GPay) and VISA to enable secured tokenisation on its credit cards.

“This new feature will enable HSBC Credit Card customers to link their card to GPay and use it as a payment option to securely and digitally transact using their mobile phones – online and at merchant stores,” it said in a statement, adding that the feature is free but optional for its credit card users.

Recently, HSBC along with Tata Steel successfully execute a blockchain-enabled, paperless trade transaction – a global first for the steel industry. The live trade finance transaction involved the export of steel by Tata Steel, India to Universal Tube & Plastic Industries, UAE.

The end-to-end paperless trade transaction, executed over the Contour platform was made possible by a unique collaboration pivoted by Tata Steel across the spectrum over the Contour and essDOCS platforms. The Letter of Credit (LC) was issued by HSBC UAE for Universal Tube & Plastic Industries, UAE (importer) with HSBC India as the advising and negotiating bank for Tata Steel, India (exporter).



[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , , ,

DBS in ‘advanced talks’ to buy Citi’s consumer banking business in India

Banking & Finance

[ad_1]

Read More/Less


Citi, which recently announced plans to exit consumer banking operations in 13 markets, is understood to be in talks with a number of foreign lenders, including DBS Bank, for its India business.

Sources close to the development said Citi is keen to exit its India consumer banking operations soon and would like to sell the entire set-up in one go.

“Talks with DBS Bank are at an advanced stage and they are keen to take up the entire consumer banking operation,” said a person familiar with the development.

Citi declined to comment to an email query sent by BusinessLine on the issue.

“At this juncture, the details are still unclear. However, we have always been open to exploring sensible bolt-on opportunities in markets where we have a consumer banking franchise (India, Indonesia, China and Taiwan) and where we can overlay our digital capabilities to serve our customers better,” a DBS spokesperson said in response to an email query by BusinessLine.

Separately, many banks are understood to be keen on Citi’s credit card business in India, which had 26.4 lakh customers as of February 2020.

Why DBS?

DBS Bank India Limited is first among large foreign banks to start operating as a wholly-owned, locally incorporated subsidiary in India and has been keen on expanding its operations in the country.

In November, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was also amalgamated with DBS Bank India, giving it access to a large customer base.

However, it could take at least six months for any transaction to be finalised, according to analysts.

According to a report by JM Financial, Citi’s Indian consumer business has a sizeable presence, with retail loans totalling about ₹3,200 crore.

“It needs to be seen whether all these businesses will be sold together or piecemeal. Also, payment consideration, in cash vs stock, will be a critical determinant to decide the eventual buyer. Since Citi functions in India through a “branch route” versus a wholly-owned subsidiary (like DBS Bank), the transaction will mostly be asset sale. In our view, the process could take 6-12 months until a final winner emerges,” it said.

[ad_2]

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Leave a comment , , ,
1 2 3