Axis Bank Closes Acquisition of Citigroup's India Consumer Business

Private sector lender Axis Bank on Wednesday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Citigroup's India consumer business from Citibank N.A. and NBFC consumer business from Citicorp Finance (India) Ltd. as going concerns.

The transaction has been completed for an overall consideration of Rs 11,603 crore in cash, based on the contracted computation of closing positions of assets, AUMs and liabilities as of January 31, 2023.

With this, the lender now becomes the owner of Citibank's India consumer business and NBFC consumer business.

Back in March last year, US bank Citigroup announced the sale of its consumer banking businesses, including credit cards, retail banking, wealth management, and consumer loans to Axis Bank as part of its plans to exit retail operations in 13 markets for Rs 12,325 crore, subject to customary and contractual adjustments.

With this deal, Axis Bank will acquire about 30 lakh unique customers of Citibank India, seven offices, 21 branches, and 499 ATMs across 18 cities.

Citibank, under its first woman CEO Jane Fraser, decided to exit the 13 markets to conserve capital and focus on higher-yielding revenue streams. Citi entered India in 1902 and started its consumer banking business in 1985.

(Source: CNBC-TV18)