HSBC’s Mexico Unit analysing possible Citibanamex purchase

HSBC Mexico’s chief executive officer and president said that HSBC’s Mexico unit is analyzing the purchase of Citigroup’s retail operations in the country, known as Citibanamex. HSBC Mexico’s Jorge Arce said in a conference call first reported by Mexican newspaper El Financiero that they are still looking at the opportunity, if there is a real strategy for the bank. Arce stated that everyone is looking into it and will put a different price on it depending on who the potential buyer is.

Citibanamex could fetch anywhere from $4 billion to $8 billion. Arce said that HSBC Mexico was in the early stages of analyzing a purchase. He also said that, that’s not to say they will or won’t make a bid. There is no banker in Mexico who isn’t thinking about how much it’s worth. U.S.-based Citigroup announced that it would be putting its Mexico retail operations up for sale. This is the latest move away from some international markets. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said that Citibanamex will go on the market sometime this spring.

Both Mexican and international banks to make a bid for the nation’s no. 2 bank. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that he would prefer Citibanamex to go to domestic investors.