Citigroup's Latin American strategy nets rewards entering 2019

According to Jane Fraser, Citigroup is the second-largest lender in the Latin American region.
According to Jane Fraser, Citigroup is the second-largest lender in the Latin American region. | Contributed photo

Citigroup’s Latin America CEO Jane Fraser says the bank’s decision to redirect its investments to the 23 countries where Citigroup does business in Latin America is paying off.

“We are putting our resources, our capital, our talent, our investment focus into the businesses in which we are better positioned and have competitive advantages, and we are generating much higher returns,” Fraser said.

Investing more in retail banking in Mexico is this year’s plan. According to Fraser, Citigroup is the second-largest lender in the region and has the scale needed to compete. Furthermore, Citigroup will also pursue growth in corporate and investment banking in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, where “we’re more optimistic from what we are hearing about the new government,” Fraser said.

Fraser also mentioned about how technology affects consumer banking.  

“Digitization is changing consumer banking radically, so we’re investing in that transformation,” she said. “We’re helping the new government to think about how we can make sure the financial system serves all parts of the community equally and fully.”