DBS Bank Ltd (DBS) has completed its acquisition of Citigroup Inc’s consumer banking business in Taiwan over the weekend, it announced yesterday.
The move came as DBS seeks to augment its presence in key Asian markets where Citi is downsizing as part of a strategic refresh.
The Singaporean banking group said the transaction — including Citi’s retail banking, credit card, mortgage and unsecured lending businesses, as well as the transfer of nearly 3,000 employees — allowed it to become the largest foreign lender in Taiwan by assets.
Photo: CNA
DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) now has a clear lead in loans, deposits, credit cards and investments among foreign players, the Singaporean banking group said in a statement.
Its number of consumer banking customers has more than doubled to more than 1.1 million, while total loans soared 1.5 times and deposits spiked 1.6 times, it said, adding that credit card accounts grew fivefold to more than 3 million.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said that the integration of Citi Consumer Taiwan fell in line with the group’s strategy to build meaningful scale in core Asian markets.
“By bringing a prized Citi franchise into our fold, we accelerate our consumer business growth in Taiwan by at least 10 years,” Gupta said in the statement.
“We will be able to provide more value to our customers, helping them grow their wealth through innovative products, and helping business owners expand into new markets or participate in regional trade flows,” he said.
DBS Taiwan general manager Ng Sier Han (黃思翰) said he welcomed new Citi colleagues to the DBS family and described the transition as seamless.
The enlarged franchise gives the bank greater opportunity to offer best-in-class products and services to its customers, Ng said.
Citi said that its institutional client businesses in Taiwan were excluded from the sale as it remains focused on serving that segment in Taiwan.
“As we conclude the sale of our consumer business in Taiwan, we remain committed to growing our market-leading institutional franchise and supporting clients in the market and across the region through our global network,” Citi Asia Pacific CEO Peter Babej said.
Since announcing its intention to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico as part of its strategic refresh, Citi has signed sales agreements in nine markets and has closed sales in eight: Taiwan, Australia, Bahrain, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Citi plans to complete the sale of its Indonesia consumer business later this year. The previously announced wind downs of Citi’s consumer business in China and South Korea and overall presence in Russia are in progress, it said in a statement.
Citi also said it would pursue an initial public offering of its consumer, small business and middle-market banking operations in Mexico, and would restart the exit process for its consumer banking business in Poland later this year, subject to market conditions.
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