Citigroup Nears Regulatory Approval for 25% Banamex Stake Sale

Mexican financial regulators are nearing approval of Citigroup Inc.'s C planned sale of a 25% stake in its retail banking unit, Grupo Financiero Banamex, according to a Bloomberg News report, which was published on MSN.

Details of C’s Banamex Stake Sale

Per the report, the financial regulators are in the final stages of reviewing both the acquisition and the strategic plan submitted by billionaire investor Fernando Chico Pardo. In September 2025, Citigroup agreed to sell a 25% stake in Banamex to Pardo for approximately $2.3 billion, marking a key milestone toward the full divestiture and deconsolidation of its Mexican consumer banking operations.

The company had earlier indicated that the transaction was expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. However, the deal could be finalized earlier than anticipated. The completion of the transaction would represent a critical step toward C’s exit from Mexican consumer banking and would support the bank’s plans to unlock value through a future public listing of Banamex.

Citigroup's Efforts to Streamline Operations

The plan to divest Banamex stake aligns with Citigroup’s broader restructuring efforts to exit the retail banking business in some markets and invest in sectors with greater growth potential. In April 2021, the company announced plans to exit consumer banking operations in 14 markets across Asia and EMEA, completing exits in nine countries.

In November 2025, Citigroup secured Kremlin approval to sell its Russia-based banking unit, AO Citibank, marking a major step in its multi-year exit from the Russian market and covering its remaining consumer and institutional operations.

Earlier, in May 2025, Citigroup agreed to sell its consumer banking business in Poland and divested its China-based onshore consumer wealth portfolio in June 2024. The bank also continues to wind down its Korea consumer banking operations.

Collectively, these initiatives support the company’s broader transformation strategy by freeing up capital for reinvestment in key wealth hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and London. Alongside workforce reductions and operational simplification, the bank expects these actions to generate $2–$2.5 billion in annualized run-rate savings by 2026 and deliver a projected 10–11% return on tangible common equity, underscoring management’s confidence in the long-term benefits of its restructuring efforts.

C's Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Shares of Citigroup have gained 43.2% in the past six months compared with the industry’s rise of 24.5%.

Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Similar Steps Taken by Other Financial Firms

Last month, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS reached an agreement with ING Bank Slaski to divest its Polish asset management firm, TFI. The deal, targeted for completion in the first half of 2026 pending regulatory signoff, will end Goldman’s presence in the Polish retail investment market while cementing ING’s long-term ambitions in the region.

GS’s TFI, under its stewardship, had grown to serve more than 736,000 clients and had 48 billion PLN in assets under management. This means GS has built a significant presence in Poland. But with the exit, ING will likely rebrand the operations fully under its own name, gradually diluting the “Goldman” brand in this part of Eastern Europe.

In September 2025, HSBC Holdings PLC HSBC agreed to sell its retail banking business in Sri Lanka to Nations Trust Bank PLC (“NTB”).

The deal includes the accounts, credit cards, and retail loans of roughly 2,00,000 clients of Sri Lanka’s branch. As part of the transaction, NTB will provide an employment offer to the existing staff. This deal, expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, is anticipated to generate an immaterial pre-tax gain for HSBC by completion.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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