Citi Handlowy, Citi’s Polish arm, will sell its consumer banking business to VeloBank and shift its focus to institutional clients.
The deal, announced Wednesday and subject to regulatory approvals and antitrust clearance, is expected to close by mid-2026.
The estimated value of the sale for shareholders will amount to about 1.1 billion zloty ($292.5 million), Citi Handlowy told Reuters. In a press release, Citi said the deal will be financially immaterial to the bank, but that it expects it to lead to a modest regulatory capital benefit upon closing.
“Citi Handlowy has been providing financial solutions to corporations in Poland through a history spanning 155 years, and we remain fully committed to Poland’s economic growth and to our institutional clients in the country,” Ernesto Torres Cantú, Citi’s head of international, said in a prepared statement. “This transaction enables us to deploy additional resources to our institutionally focused businesses, so we can continue to connect corporations in Poland to our global network.”
The buyer, VeloBank, is affiliated with Cerberus Capital Management, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation.
Citi Handlowy’s consumer banking business includes wealth management, micro business banking, credit cards and consumer loans, as well as deposits and assets under management, consumer clients of the brokerage business, branches and other consumer-related assets.
The bank plans to continue to invest in its institutional businesses. This is part of a broader retreat from retail banking in 14 international markets, which the bank began in 2021.
Thus far, Citi has closed sales in nine markets and wound down three of them. Poland marks its 10th sale, according to a spokesperson. The bank had determined the markets weren’t scalable, the spokesperson said.
Citi’s sole remaining international consumer business is in Mexico. In December, Citi separated its retail business there, Banamex, from its institutional operations, and plans to pursue an initial public offering for Banamex this year.
