Axis Bank Ltd Citigroup India’s retail banking business

According to people familiar with the matter, Axis Bank is about to buy Citigroup's retail banking business in India and is approaching a deal worth about $ 2.5 billion. An agreement for consumers can be announced as soon as the next few weeks and is contingent on approval from the RBI. The deal would include a cash component of less than $2 billion, accounting for the consumer business’ liabilities. The Indian lender came out as the buyer after beating out rivals, with factors such as job security for current Citigroup employees and competition concerns being taken into account. The bank will need six months to merge its consumer business in India with Citigroup. Axis Bank said in January that quarterly profit more than tripled on robust earnings from lending and its non-core business including fees and trading, as the easing of the coronavirus pandemic helped a revival in consumer demand.