Itaú Unibanco unveiled today the acquisition of Citibank’s retail business (for individuals) in Brazil for a total consideration of R$ 710 million.
The agreement includes loans, deposits, credit cards, branches, asset management and insurance brokerage, as well as the equity interests held by Citibank in TECBAN – Tecnologia Bancária S.A. – (a 5.64% of TECBAN’s capital) and in Cibrasec – Companhia Brasileira de Securitização- (a 3,60% of its capital)
The Brazilian bank carried out the purchase through Itaú Unibanco S.A. and Itaú Corretora de Valores S.A. both companies belonging to Itaú Unibanco.
This transaction will involve the corporate restructuring of some companies belonging to the Citibank group to spin off all the retail business in Brazil and transfer it to the companies included in the acquisition agreement.
The transaction is still subject to some closing conditions, including the compulsory approvals by the Central Bank of Brazil and the Brazilian Antitrust Authority (CADE -Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica-).
Citibank (with 71 branches) offers financial products and services to individuals in the retail segment in Brazil, including checking accounts, loans and credit cards, comprising approximately a client base of 315,000 checking account holders, R$ 35 Bn in deposits and assets under management (gross amounts on the base date of December 31, 2015), 1.1 million credit cards and a loan portfolio of R$ 6 Bn. With this acquisition, Itaú Unibanco’s assets will reach the R$ 1,404 Bn
Once the transaction is completed, Citibank’s clients will have access to an increased digital services offer, as currently the 95% of transactions can be carried out remotely at Itaú Unibanco. Citibank’s clients in Brazil will also have access to an expanded service network composed of more than 4,000 branches and customer service centers and 44,000 ATMs throughout the country.
Image over the headline.- © Itaú Unibanco and © Citibank, respectively.
