Citibank India: Citi India’s $2 billion retail business worth tops in Asia: Report

MUMBAI: 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 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 said.

The report identifies DBS, OCBC and StanChart as possible cross-border buyers, but is uncertain about HSBC.