- There is huge demand for Credit Cards and the market is going high in the recent days. Meanwhile, many banks which include HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank are keen in acquiring Citi’s credit card division in India.
- It is learnt that around 56 banks are in the fray to bid for Citi’s Card business in India which include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Banl and DBS India.
- Many Indian lenders are looking to scale up their credit card business and Citi high quality customer portfolio will be a useful addition.
- Opportunities Brokerage firmJefferies had said in April that Citi’s exit from the retail business in India would pave way for Indian Private banks, credit card players and foreign banks in the country.
- It may be noted that Citigroup had in April this year announced its decision to exit its consumer banking opeations in India as part of an on-going strategic review, which was part of strategic actions in the Global Consumer Banking space across 13 markets.
- However, Citi has been losing its market share in the country and valuations could prove to be an issue.
- Further, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India, Citi Bank had 25.93 lakh outstanding credit cards at the end August 2021, compared to 26.21 lakh at the end of April 2021 and 27.39 lakh at the end August 2020.
It is estimated to have about a 4 per cent market share in the credit card segment in terms of numbers and 5 per cent in term of spending and any sale of assets would require approval from the RBI which is likely to take at least another 45 months.
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