Five Banks, Including HDFC & Singapore-Based DBS, In Fray For Citi India’s Retail Business

The Economic Times, which mentioned this in a report, cited top banking sources as saying that Kotak Mahindra, HDFC and DBS are considered favourites to grab the franchise.

New Delhi: HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank and the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) have emerged as the top five contenders to take over Citi India’s estimated $2-billion retail business.

The Economic Times, which mentioned this in a report, cited top banking sources as saying that Kotak Mahindra, HDFC and DBS are considered favourites to grab the franchise.

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“Five banks have been shortlisted as top candidates for the India business and the next step is to shortlist three suitors with whom Citi will negotiate a higher valuation. Citi is also looking to cut a better deal for its credit card business as it is a high-grossing book,” The Economic Times quoted one of the two bankers cited above as saying.

A piece of the Citi business in India would give the Singapore-based DBS Bank a bigger footprint locally.

“While we, from time to time, evaluate potential bolt-on opportunities in markets where we are active, we do not comment on the specifics of any particular opportunity,” The Economic Times quoted a DBS spokesperson as saying.

A Citi spokesperson commented on the same but declined to discuss the specifics of the bids.

“As with deals of this nature, the likely transaction process will customarily take place over a number of months and will require interaction with a wide range of interested buyers,” he said.

Kotak Mahindra, HDFC, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank are yet to comment on this.