http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/business/citigroup-to-sell-japanese-retail-banking-unit-to-sumitomo-mitsui-banking.html 2014-12-25 13:07:55 Citigroup to Sell Japanese Retail Banking Unit to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking The company will merge the Citibank unit, which has 1,600 employees and 32 branches, with its private banking subsidiary SMBC Trust Bank. === TOKYO — The acquisition price was not disclosed. “This decision furthers Citi’s global strategy of focusing our resources where we feel we have a competitive advantage,” Peter B. Eliot, chief executive of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking will merge the Citibank unit, which has 1,600 employees and 32 branches, with its private banking subsidiary The companies said that customers of Citibank Japan would continue to have access after the acquisition to Citigroup’s global A.T.M. network, one of the most popular services among Japanese customers. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking said that Citibank Japan’s affluent customer base was very attractive. “Its customer base is different from that of Japanese banks,” Nobuaki Kurumatani, senior managing director of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, said at a news briefing. He also said that Citibank Japan’s ¥1 trillion worth of foreign currency deposits from customers was valuable for his bank, which is aggressively expanding overseas lending and needs more stable sources of dollar funding. The companies said the deal was expected to close next October, subject to regulatory approval. Citigroup said this past autumn that it was pulling out of consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan, to cut costs. Its Japanese consumer banking business has been hurt by weak loan demand and falling interest margins.