Citigroup expects sale or IPO of Mexico consumer business next year

NEW YORK – Citigroup Inc expects to divest its Mexican consumer business via a sale or initial public offering that could happen next year, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

“We’re going to make sure we get the best value for it through a sale or through an alternative exit, an IPO or whatever it takes,” CFO Mark Mason told a Barclays investor conference.

In January, Citi announced it would exit Mexico as part of a plan to bring the group’s profitability and share price performance in line with its peers.

Mexico is among the 14 consumer markets Citigroup is trying to exit.

Bidders for the asset narrowed after Santander said in July it had dropped out of the race after submitting a non-binding offer earlier in the year.

In late July, Grupo Financiero Inbursa said it was still interested in buying Citigroup’s Mexican retail business and was inviting other business partners to join its bid.

In Russia, Citi, the largest Wall Street bank to have a presence in the country, decided to wind down its consumer and local commercial business there instead of a sale.