UnionBank of the Philippines recently announced that it has entered into a Share and Business Transfer Agreement with various subsidiaries of Citigroup Inc. (Citi) to acquire Citi’sconsumer banking business in the Philippines.
The transaction includes Citi’s credit card, personal loans, wealth management, and retail depositbusinesses. The acquisition also includes Citi’s real estate interests in relation to Citibank Square inEastwood, 3 full service bank branches, 5 wealth centers, and 2 bank branch lites.
Erramon Isidro M. Aboitiz, Chairman of UnionBank, said, “This acquisition further cements our positionas a leading bank in the Philippines, as well as fast-tracks our growth aspirations in the retail banking segment.”
Edwin R. Bautista, President and Chief Executive Officer of UnionBank, highlighted that, “CitibankPhilippines has a great, profitable and well-run retail portfolio. It has the 3rd largest credit card franchise and is a pre-eminent wealth management provider in the Philippines. We look forward to this game changing opportunity to leapfrog our credit card business and significantly expand our banking businessin the higher end segment of the consumer market.”
Mr. Bautista added, “There are clear synergistic opportunities in this engagement. We intend to learnfrom Citi’s expertise to enable UnionBank to effectively build on its success and take the business to thenext level. As we embark on this journey, we are committed to retain all of Citi’s key talents and upholdthe superior customer experience that Citi has delivered to its customers over the years.”
Approximately 1,750 Citi employees, including senior management, are expected to join UnionBank. Mr.Aboitiz added, “We are looking forward to welcoming all employees to the UnionBank family. With thestrong cultural similarities between the organizations, we believe Citi’s employees will feel at home at UnionBank.”
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