Citi lost its dominance in the credit card business to other players and therefore slowed down its customer acquisition game even before the final decision of moving out of the business.
Several private domestic players must be trying to get their hands on the credit card business of Citi after the American multinational investment bank decided to wrap up most of its operations in India.
Citi was once a market leader in India’s credit card business. In the past few years, Citi lost its dominance to other players and therefore slowed down its customer acquisition game even before the final decision of moving out of the business.
Notably, Citi’s clientele mostly includes high net worth individuals (HNIs). Most of the companies are now eyeing to beef up their credit card business with the lucrative acquisition opportunity.
Therefore, it’s very likely that even foreign banks might also show interest, especially with the RBI recently amending norms recognising standalone credit card companies. “Foreign banks might also look to expand presence, and we note that DBS had recently acquired branches of Indian bank (LVB) to expand presence in India — other large foreign banks in India are HSBC and StanChart,” Jefferies said in its report.
