Mexico City, Mexico — Citigroup says they intend to end its consumer banking operation in Mexico as part of a broader strategic shift under the leadership of CEO Jane Fraser.
The bank announced Tuesday that it will abandon the consumer banking, small and medium-sized businesses operations of its Mexican Citibanamex. Citi, which has been operating in Mexico for more than a century, said it will continue to have an institutional presence in the country focused on its private banking clients.
Since taking over as CEO in March of last year, Fraser has sought to streamline the bank’s operations and bolster investor confidence after years of mismanagement and scandals.
As part of the bank’s broader upgrade, Fraser divested most of Citi’s consumer banking operations in Asia to focus more on wealthy customers and the credit card business.
“The updating of the strategy that Citi has undertaken will result in a stronger and more focused bank,” Mark Mason, Citi’s chief financial officer said in a statement. “We will pursue a consumer-driven strategy, double wealth and focus on our highest performing institutional businesses where we have competitive advantages,” he added.
“Citi has been operating in Mexico for more than a century and the country will remain one of Citi’s largest institutional markets outside of the United States,” he said.