Citi Mexico sees new opportunities with banks after Banamex split

SAO PAULO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Citigroup's Mexican unit is aiming to expand its business with other banks after its separation from Banamex gave it greater freedom to serve financial institutions, Citi Mexico CEO Luis Brossier told Reuters on Tuesday.

Citi split Banamex from its institutional banking business in 2024 as part of a broader plan to unwind its ownership of the retail bank, which it intends to fully do through an initial public offering expected in 2027.

Brossier said the separation has allowed Citi Mexico to operate more like Citi'scorporate-focusedbusinessin markets such as Brazil, where investment banking, markets and transaction services have driven growth.

"We already had the corporate clients because that business moved with us from Banamex," Brossier said in an interview in Sao Paulo. "The opportunity now is how we do more for those same clients."

One avenue for growth is providing services to other banks, a business Citi was previously constrained from aggressively pursuing while it owned Banamex, he said.

"Citi globally tends to be a bank for banks," Brossier said, citing the lender's international footprint and financial infrastructure.

The shift is already yielding results, Brossier added, with Banamex itself set to become an important client.

Citi recently led Banamex's additional tier-one bond issuance, the retail bank's first sale of high-risk debt as it builds an independent balance sheet following its separation from Citi. Citi is also set to play a role in Banamex's eventual IPO.

Brossier also pointed to business with BBVA in Mexico, saying Citi has handled bond issuances for the bank -- work he said would have been unlikely when Banamex was still part of Citi.

Citi also sees opportunities to expand its commercial banking segment, which serves mid-sized companies, as well as private banking.

He said the strategy mirrors Citi's approach in Brazil, where commercial banking brings fast-growing companies into the franchise with the aim of developing them into larger institutional clients.

"That is a client-acquisition business," Brossier said of commercial banking in Mexico. "For the rest of the franchise, the focus is on deepening relationships with the clients we already have."

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Andrea Ricci )

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