Citi to Sell Spanish Consumer Business to Banco Popular Espanol

First it was Brazil and Greece. Now add Spain to the list of countries where Citigroup (NYSE: C) is unloading consumer banking operations.

Citi on Monday said it agreed to sell the business line in Spain to Banco Popular Espanol (BPESF) for undisclosed terms. Citi said in a press release that the deal is part of its ongoing effort to divest "non-core operating businesses and asset portfolios in an economically rational manner."

Citi has been pressed by regulators to fix certain issues after it failed the Federal Reserve's stress tests and had its capital plan rejected, and to fix problems with internal controls after it discovered fraud in a Mexican unit.

As part of its goal to unload non-core assets, Citi earlier this month agreed to sell its consumer banking unit in Greece to Alpha Bank. Last year, it reached a deal to sell its credit card and consumer finance businesses in Brazil to Banco Itaú Unibanco.

Citi did not disclose terms of the Spanish deal, which the company expects to complete in the third quarter, pending "regulatory and other customary approvals."

Citi will sell $2 billion in assets, $3.2 billion in assets under management, $2 billion in loans and $2.8 billion in deposits to Banco Popular Espanol. It will also sell 1.2 million customer accounts. As part of the deal, about 950 Citi employees will be transferred to Banco Popular Espanol, along with 45 branches and the Citi ATM network there.

As is in the case in Greece, Citi does not intend to exit Spain entirely. Citi plans to expand the services it offers to corporate, private bank and public sector clients there, and to continue to service multinational corporations with operations in Spain.

Mark Costiglio, a Citi spokesman, declined to make additional comments. Banco Popular Espanol could not be reached for comment.

Banco Popular Espanol, in Madrid, is also the holding company for Miami's TotalBank, a $2.6 billion-asset institution that operates 21 branches in Florida.