HSBC to Acquire Citi Group's China Wealth Management Division

According to two sources familiar with the matter, HSBC is set to acquire Citigroup's China consumer wealth management business, which manages more than $3 billion in assets, in a major boost to the London-based bank's business in that country.

The transaction, the financial terms of which were not immediately disclosed, will also see Asia-focused HSBC absorb "a few hundreds" of Citi's China-based employees, according to one of the sources.

Citi announced in December that it intended to sell some of its portfolios as part of its plan to wind down its China retail banking operations. Its China wealth management operations, which are part of the retail banking business it has planned to exit since 2021, primarily serve the world's second-largest economy's mass affluent clients.

HSBC Holdings is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with unique historical and commercial ties to East Asia and a globally diverse footprint. With US$2.953 trillion in assets as of December 2021, it is the largest European bank by total assets, surpassing BNP Paribas.HSBC will have $10.8 trillion in assets under custody (AUC) and $4.9 trillion in assets under administration (AUA) in 2021.

Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is a New York-based American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation. In 1998, the company was formed by the merger of banking behemoth Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travellers Group.