Citi agrees to sell 25% stake in Banamex for $2.3B

[Citibank logo sign on office building in Downtown Chicago]
Julian Prizont-Cado

Citigroup (NYSE:C [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/C]) agreed to sell a 25% stake in its Mexican retail bank Banamex to local businessman Fernando Chico Pardo and members of his family, part of Citi's previously announced plan to divest the business unit, the company said on Wednesday.

Under the transaction terms, Fernando Chico Pardo will acquire about 520M shares of Banamex's outstanding common shares at a fixed price-to-book of 0.80x the local GAAP book value at closing. At signing, that implies a price-to-local GAAP tangible book value of 0.95x and total estimate sales consideration of ~MXN 42B (US$2.3B). The sale is expected to close in H2 2026.

Citi (NYSE:C [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/C]) shares rose 0.9% in after-market trading.

In connection with the agreement, Citi (NYSE:C [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/C]) incurred a goodwill impairment of $726M in All Other — Legacy Franchises, which was recorded in expenses in Q3 2025 and is capital neutral to Citi.

After the deal is completed, Chico Pardo will become chair of Grupo Financiero Banamex. Ignacio Deschamps will remain as chair of Banco Nacional de México, and Manuel Romo will remain CEO of Banamex.

In May, Citi (C [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/C]) announced plans to spin off [https://seekingalpha.com/news/3974567-citigroup-to-pursue-ipo-of-banamex-retail-operations-to-resume-buybacks]its retail and small and mid-market banking operations in Mexico through an IPO rather than sell the Banamex unit outright. On Wednesday, the company said [https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2025/citi-agreement-fernando-chico-pardo-purchase-25-percent-equity-stake-banamex]any decisions related to the timing and structure of the proposed Banamex IPO will continue to be guided by several factors, including market conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

The divestiture of the Mexican retail operations is a part of CEO Jane Fraser's signature plan to exit more than a dozen consumer banking markets to focus its retail operations on four wealth markets — Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and London.

Citi (C [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/C]) will retain and continue to grow its institutional business in Mexico.

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