Narayan AmmachchiAmerican banking giant Citi Group has separated its institutional banking operations from Grupo Financiero Banamex. This retail bank allowed Citi to offer services in Mexico for over two decades.
This spin-off is part of Citi Group’s strategy to launch an IPO for Banamex. The newly independent institutional banking services unit will now operate under the brand name Grupo Financiero Citi México, focusing on providing advisory services in the financial market.
According to Citi Group’s CEO, Jane Fraser, this separation simplifies the bank’s operations. Banamex was merged with Citi Group in 2001 after the American banking giant acquired it for more than $12 billion.
Today, Banamex operates over 1,300 branches across Mexico, serving approximately 20 million customers. Banamex became an independent entity in 2022 when Citi Group decided to exit retail banking operations in Mexico.
In 2023, Citi nearly completed a deal with Mexican billionaire German Larrea to sell Banamex. However, tensions between Larrea and then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led to the deal being abandoned.
Citi employs roughly 3,000 people and is considered the largest retail bank in the country.
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