NAB buys Citi’s Australian consumer business for $882m

Citi Australia’s senior management and about 800 employees are expected to join NAB.

National Australia Bank (NAB) is buying Citi Australia’s consumer business for approximately $882m (A$1.2b). 

NAB said that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to buy Citigroup’s Australian consumer assets, which include the home lending portfolio, unsecured lending business, retail deposits business, and private wealth management business. NAB is also paying a premium of $250m.

As of 30 June, the Citigroup Consumer Business had lending assets of approximately A$12.2b, which comprises residential mortgages of approximately A$7.9b and unsecured lending of approximately A$4.3b, and deposits of approximately A$9b.

Senior management and approximately 800 Citigroup employees in total are expected to join NAB.

NAB will not be acquiring all of the technology systems or platforms of Citi’s consumer business. Instead, NAB will enter into a Transitional Services Agreement (TSA) with Citigroup to assist with the integration of the Citigroup business into NAB. The TSA is expected to be in place for approximately 30 months, and NAB plans to invest in a new tech platform to support the combined unsecured lending business.

The deal is expected to be completed by March 2022.

(A$1 = US$0.74)