HSBC Holdings PLC agreed to buy Citigroup Inc’s retail wealth management portfolio in China, adding to its expansion in the world’s second-largest economy.
The portfolio comprises about US$3.6 billion in assets and deposits from wealthy customers across 11 major cities, HSBC said in a statement.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, Citi said.
Photo: Reuters
HSBC is pushing to become a leader in one of the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets as part of its pivot to Asia.
Even so, the deal comes amid growing concerns over the direction of the Chinese economy amid a protracted slump in its real estate market, which had been a major source of wealth growth, as well as a crackdown on private enterprise.
CENTRAL TO AMBITIONS
“Mainland China is central to our ambition to be the leading wealth manager in Asia,” HSBC’s wealth and personal banking chief executive officer Nuno Matos said.
The London-headquartered lender has pursued a combination of “organic and inorganic initiatives” to deepen coverage of mainland China’s wealth customers, with a focus on affluent and emerging affluent sectors.
The sale is part of a winding down of Citi’s consumer banking business in China, which was announced in December last year.
The portfolio excludes credit cards, mortgages and other loans of Citibank (China) Co (花旗中國).
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