Mexican Billionaire Salinas Says He’s Interested in Citibanamex

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Ricardo Salinas said he’s asked his team to look into acquiring Citigroup Inc.’s Mexican retail business known as Citibanamex, just hours after the U.S. firm announced plans to exit consumer-banking operations in the country.

“I have always believed and invested in Mexico and Mexicans. That’s why I’ve asked my team to analyze the convenience of acquiring Citibanamex and to redouble my bet on Mexico, Mexicans and the future,” Salinas wrote.

Citigroup announced Tuesday its plan to exit retail banking in Mexico, where it has its largest branch network in the world. The units included in the intended exit have roughly $44 billion in assets and take up about $4 billion in average allocated tangible common equity.

Citi’s Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser said Mexico remains a priority market for the lender despite the exit.

Salinas is worth $13.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s the chairman of Banco Azteca and Grupo Elektra, a financial and retail company that operates throughout Latin America. An active Twitter user, Salinas recently announced his Elektra retail stores would accept Bitcoin as payment.

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