(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (N:C) said it plans to exit its retail banking and credit card operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia as part of efforts to aggressively cut costs and boost profitability.
Shares of the bank, which has operated in both Argentina and Brazil for more than 100 years, were nearly flat in premarket trading on Friday.
The U.S. bank, built with a series of acquisitions spanning back to the 1980s, has been trying to slim down since the financial crisis to be as profitable as its rivals.
Citi has been selling retail operations in several countries, shrinking its branch network and selling non-core businesses under Chief Executive Michael Corbat.
The Wall Street bank, like its peers, has had to resort to aggressive cost controls as near-zero interest rates, a slump in oil prices and investor cautiousness due to worries about slowing growth in China have hurt its revenue growth.
In the fourth quarter, the bank reported a 17 percent fall in revenue from LatAm.
"While our consumer businesses in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia are of high quality, we have decided to focus our efforts on opportunities with our institutional clients in these countries and throughout the wider region," Corbat said in a statement on Friday.
The businesses being sold are a part of its consumer banking operations and will be transferred to Citi Holdings. The business will report financial results as part of Citi Holdings from first quarter, the bank said.
Citi Holdings is the division that holds all non-core assets that the bank is winding down or selling.
Brazil is in the second year of a severe economic recession, while the Argentinian economy has been under stress due to restrictions barring it from accessing international capital markets for years.