UOB to acquire Citi Vietnam retail banking business next year

Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) said Tuesday it expects to complete the acquisition of Citigroup's consumer banking business in Vietnam and Indonesia next year.

UOB revealed this in an announcement on the completion of its acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in Malaysia and Thailand, which comprise the group's unsecured and secured lending portfolios, wealth management and retail deposit businesses.

The entire deal for Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand will be UOB's biggest acquisition in two decades and will double its existing retail customer base to 5.3 million in the four Southeast Asian markets that it already has a substantial presence in and competes with larger rivals, including DBS Group and OCBC, both based in Singapore.

"The acquisition provides us with increased scale and supports our ambition to be the bank of choice for consumers and businesses in Asean," said Wee Ee Cheong, UOB's deputy chairman and CEO.

Meanwhile, Citigroup said the same day that the completed sale of its Malaysia and Thailand retail banking to UOB is expected to result in a regulatory capital benefit of $1 billion.

Both sides did not disclose the total transaction value for the four Asean markets or for each. However, UOB had said in January 2022 that Citigroup had agreed on the entire transaction for about $3.7 billion.

Citigroup's exit from Southeast Asia came after CEO Jane Fraser said in 2021 that the U.S. bank would close retail operations in 13 markets, including 10 in Asia, to refocus on its more lucrative institutional and wealth management businesses.

HSBC announced in May 2021 a strategic plan that includes the divestiture of 90 of its branches, as part of the global bank’s effort to exit the U.S. retail banking business.

Australian lender ANZ sold its Vietnam retail business to South Korea's Shinhan Bank in 2017 to focus resources on institutional banking. The same year, UOB became Singapore’s first bank allowed to set up a fully-owned subsidiary in Vietnam.