Although the price of Banamex will be important for Citigroup to give the green light to the sale of the bank, it will not be the only factor that they consider when closing the transaction in early 2023.
“The criteria we follow are not based only on price. We also need a strategy for our 39,000 employees, a strategy for our 22 million customers and what are we going to do with the heritage and the communities where we work, because the heritage of Banco Nacional de México is that,” said Manuel Romo, CEO of Grupo Financiero Citibanamex during the Inter.Mx Summit Expansión 2022 .
The manager said that the parent company in the United States is still evaluating whether to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or whether to make a direct sale. The operation will be completed in the first months of next year and in 2024 the bank will be formally handed over to the new owner.
Regarding a lawsuit by Oceanography, Romo said that the process is still open, but that has not prevented the sale of the bank from continuing.
Regarding the license for Citi Mexico to operate, the director said that they are still in talks with the regulators and that the purchase of another bank to obtain the operating permit has not been ruled out.
“We are in the process of obtaining a license in Mexico and all alternatives are being evaluated,” he said.
Manuel Romo said that between the end of this year and the first months of 2023 it will be revealed who bought Banamex and 2024 will be when they hand over “the keys to the National Bank of Mexico (Banamex)”.
During his presentation at the table called “The 500 of Expansion and their responsibility”, Romo stressed that investments in technology are key for all businesses. In their case, the pandemic and digitalization helped them to make 88% of their transactions digital.
