Citibank to Hold Second Board Meeting on 3rd Next Month... Will Full Sale Withdrawal Strategy Be Discussed?

Yoom Young-soon, President of Citibank Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Korea Citibank, which announced its intention to withdraw from the domestic retail finance market, revealed on the 14th that it will hold a board meeting on the 3rd of next month. It is expected that specific withdrawal strategies will be discussed.

According to the financial industry, after Citibank's announcement of Citigroup's 'withdrawal from consumer finance in 13 countries,' it has been receiving letters of intent (LOI) through Citigroup Global Markets Securities and others. Although a board meeting was held on the 27th of last month, no concrete plans were presented. At that time, the management reportedly reported options such as a full sale, partial sale, and phased closure.

This upcoming board meeting will be the second one held, and plans to discuss the option of selling the entire retail finance business at once, including wealth management (WM), credit card, and loan sectors. Yoo Myung-soon, President of Korea Citibank, recently stated in a conversation with employees that "among the three options, the full sale is being prioritized."

In a message sent to employees on the day, it was explained, "As mentioned in the April message, we are carefully reviewing all possible execution plans regarding the exit strategy for the consumer finance business division, but currently, the full sale of the consumer finance business division is prioritized, and sale-related work is being carried out with Citi's M&A team and Citigroup Global Markets Securities."

He continued, "Although the specific schedule for the exit strategy has not yet been decided, at the next regular board meeting scheduled for June 3rd, we plan to report on the status of potential buyers who have shown interest by the end of this month and further discuss exit strategy options including full sale, partial sale, and phased closure."

President Yoo said, "We fully empathize with the concerns and worries that all of you, who have contributed to the bank's growth and development, may feel due to Citigroup's announcement of the consumer finance exit strategy," and added, "Reflecting feedback from colleagues facing difficulties in customer management, we are raising fixed deposit interest rates and conducting customer appreciation events."

He added, "We will do our best efforts to find the best solution for both employees and customers."