Citibank Korea is planning to sell its retail finance arm as a whole in withdrawing from the South Korean consumer banking market. The bank is currently collecting letters of intent via the M&A team of Citigroup and Citigroup Global Market Securities Korea.
According to industry sources, the disposal procedure is likely to be completed within this year, although no deadline has been set by Citibank Korea. Acquisition candidates include Standard Chartered Korea, OK Financial Group and DGB Financial Group.
The price of the bank is estimated at one trillion won to two trillion won and its high labor cost is likely to act as a variable. The average annual salary of Citibank Korea staff members was 112 million won last year, the highest in the domestic banking sector. If Citibank Korea’s attempt to sell itself as a whole fails, its wealth management, credit card and consumer lending arms may be put on the market separately.
In the meantime, unionized Citibank Korea employees recently expressed their opposition to the withdrawal and met with Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo on May 7 to clarify their demands.