Scotiabank said Tuesday it has reached an agreement with Citigroup to acquire all of the commercial and banking businesses under Citigroup’s operations in Costa Rica and Panama.
The agreement, which is awaiting regulatory approval, will impact Scotiabank’s common equity tier one capital ratio by an estimated 15 basis points.
This move advances Scotiabank’s strategy to raise its scale and complement operations in Costa Rica and Panama. The transaction will boost Scotiabank’s market share in credit cards to approximately 15 percent in Costa Rica and 18 percent in Panama. This will make Scotiabank as the No. 2 two bank in this segment in both regions.
Additionally, the bank’s customer base will increase from approximately 137,000 to 387,000 customers within these two countries. This makes more opportunities for Scotiabank to leverage leading regional loyalty programs as well as key strategic alliances.
Citibank’s presence in Panama and Costa Rica are comprised of 27 branches providing service to approximately 250,000 retail and commercial banking customers. The bank has been in Panama since 1904 and Costa Rica since 1968.
Citibank has said that it will continue operating in the two countries, concentrating on corporate and institutional banking business as well as international wealth management services. This will optimize the bank’s competitive leadership role as well as its worldwide presence.
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