By Nicolas Parasie and Justin Baer
Egypt's Commercial International Bank SAE said Tuesday it agreed
to buy Citigroup Inc.'s retail business in the North African
country.
Citigroup, which has moved to streamline its international
operations and boost profits, had put the Egyptian unit up for sale
as the U.S. banking giant continues to exit countries where it
lacks scale and potential for growth.
Cairo-based Commercial International Bank beat nearly a dozen
mostly regional lenders who were hoping to expand in the Arab
world's most populous country. The deal will help boost CIB's
presence with consumers and credit-card customers.
"Among the main attractions of the deal was the high quality
portfolio and excellent skill set of the staff," CIB Chairman
Hisham Ezz Al-Arab said in a statement.
Turmoil-hit Egypt in the past year has strived to revive its
economy through a series of reforms aimed at courting foreign
investments. Its population of more than 80 million remains largely
underbanked and garnered interest from international banks in the
past decade, some of which have since then sold their operations to
other Middle Eastern competitors.
Citigroup still retains a small presence in Egypt but
nevertheless joins some other international banks, including BNP
Paribas and Societe Generale, who have sold most or all of their
operations in the country.
Citigroup last year announced plans to exit 11 countries,
including Japan and Hungary, around the globe to reduce costs. The
bank's Egyptian consumer business has eight branches, and around
800 staff serving some 100,000 clients, a spokesman said at the
time.
Write to Nicolas Parasie at nicolas.parasie@wsj.com