Axis Bank-Citibank Deal To Be Completed By March 1

Axis Bank will acquire Citibank’s India consumer business from Citibank N.A. (CBNA) and NBFC from Citicorp Finance (India) Limited (CFIL), according to its regulatory filing.

In March last year, Axis Bank said it reached an agreement to buy Citibank’s consumer business in India for ₹12,325 crore ($1.6 billion) in cash. Citibank’s consumer business includes loans, credit cards, wealth management and retail banking operations. The bank’s credit card portfolio comprises affluent customers and have higher average spends than the industry.

The bank had given a timeline of 12 months to complete this acquisition. In July last year, Axis Bank had got the approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the same.

“Based on the progress made till date, we estimate a reasonable possibility of completion of the acquisition by March 1, 2023, which is within the timeline of 12 months indicated earlier by us, subject to satisfactory completion of the customary and contractual conditions in accordance with the provisions of the CBNA BTA and CFIL BTA, as referred above," said Axis Bank in its filing.

The deal will see credit card portfolio of 25 lakh users, deposits of ₹50,200 crore and wealth management assets worth ₹1.1 for Axis Bank.

Axis Bank will gain access to seven offices, 21 branches, and 499 ATMs currently owned and operated by Citi.

Axis Bank’s Cards balance sheet to grow by 57% with an additional 2.5 million Citibank cards, making it one of the top 3 Cards businesses in the country

Axis Bank reported a 62% surge in fiscal third quarter net profit. Profit for the quarter ended 31 December climbed to ₹5,853 crore from ₹3,614 crore a year earlier.

Axis bank shares closed 1.44% up at ₹845.15 on BSE.