by Selena Li
HONG KONG (Reuters) – HSBC is close to acquiring Citigroup’s Chinese wealth management business, which manages more than $3 billion in assets, two sources familiar with the matter said.
As part of this transaction, financial details of which were not immediately revealed, HSBC is expected to take over “a few hundred” Citi employees based in China, one of the sources said.
The deal could be announced as early as next month, added the two sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
HSBC and Citi declined to comment.
The London-based banking group is seeking to expand in China, one of its main markets, as part of a strategy to focus on its main revenue generator, Asia.
Citi’s wealth management business in China, part of the retail banking business it has been seeking to shed since 2021, mainly caters to affluent clients in the world’s second-largest economy.
Its private banking service, which caters to wealthy Chinese clients from the bank’s locations outside China, will remain intact, the first source reported. Citi is also in the process of applying to set up a securities brokerage unit in China.
In Asia, Citi is closing its operations in South Korea and plans to complete the transfer of its Indonesian operations to UOB Group. In August, it completed the sale and migration of its consumer businesses to Taiwan.
(Reporting by Selena Li; by Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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