HSBC CEO: No Plans to Buy Citi’s Banamex Bank in Mexico

HSBC executives, representing one of Mexico’s biggest banks, have told investors that the bank doesn’t want to buy out Citigroup’s consumer bank Banamex, Reuters reported Wednesday (Feb. 23).

“No, we’re not looking to acquire in Mexico,” HSBC Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in a call with investors focused on the bank’s quarterly earnings and outlook.

This comes as Citigroup previously announced it wanted to sell Banamex as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s idea to simplify the bank’s operations. According to analysts, Banamex might go for something between $4 billion to $8 billion, and may see bids from international banks or coalitions of Mexican investors.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he wants to see Banamex bought by a Mexican company.

According to Quinn, HSBC Mexico’s current operations are doing OK. He said the bank had produced “returns on tangible equity last year of around about 13%.”

PYMNTS wrote last month that Citi had been changing its business structure and had plans to sell the Mexican retail banking arm. That came along with the consumer, small business and middle-market banking operations.

Read more: After Closing Citibanamex, Citi Will Invest in Firms That Match Its ‘Core Strengths’

The report said that Citi had similarly announced plans to sell consumer bank operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which were intended to help out with a $3.7 billion deal including retail banking and credit cards — but not Citi’s institutional businesses.

According to bank officials, Citi plans to report results from U.S. personal banking and global wealth management, getting rid of its global consumer bank line. Fraser said the developments didn’t mean the company was ending its operations in Mexico.

“We expect Mexico will be a major recipient of global investment and trade flows in the years ahead,” she said. “Therefore, we plan to maintain a significant locally licensed bank there and invest capture growth in a core and high returning hub of our institutional network.”