Yes Bank will evaluate acquisition of American banking major Citibank's retail banking assets, including credit cards and wealth management. CEO Prashant Kumar told LiveMint: "We would definitely explore that opportunity; I think they are running a process. Once all of that is in the public domain, we would definitely like to explore not only credit cards but also wealth management and retail business. Then, depending on our appetite, we would take a call.”
On April 15, Citibank announced that it will exit from the consumer banking business in India as part of a global strategy. The business comprises credit cards, retail banking, home loans and wealth management. The bank has 35 branches in the country and employs approximately 4,000 people in the consumer banking business.
Jane Fraser, Citibank’s global attributed the decision to an absence of scale to compete in these geographies.
The bank said it had closed its retail banking operations in 13 countries across Europe and Asia, including India.
Citi had entered India in 1902 and started the consumer banking business in 1985.