Murad Sezer/ReutersHakan Ates, chief of DenizBank, which is buying Citi’s consumer banking business in Turkey.

LONDON – Citigroup agreed on Thursday to sell its consumer banking business in Turkey to the local lender DenizBank in its latest move to offload international assets.

DenizBank, which was itself acquired by the Russian firm Sberbank for $3.5 billion last year, will acquire assets worth around $650 million and customer deposits totaling $800 million, according to a company statement. The price for the deal was not disclosed.

Shares in the Turkish bank rose 9.5 percent in afternoon trading in Istanbul on Thursday.

The move by Citigroup to sell its Turkish consumer banking unit comes as the financial giant is paring back its operations outside of the United States.

In December, Citigroup announced plans to pull back or sell its consumer banking businesses in several emerging markets, including Pakistan, Romania and Paraguay.

The efforts are part of a plan by Citigroup’s new chief executive, Michael L. Corbat, to cut yearly costs by $1.1 billion by 2014. The plan also includes 11,000 layoffs across the bank’s global operations.

As Western banks revamp their businesses in the wake of the financial crisis, many are reducing their worldwide footprint in countries where they cannot compete with local rivals.

The British bank HSBC also has announced a series of disposals in recent months, particularly in developing economies like Pakistan and Colombia.

The deal for Citigroup’s Turkish consumer banking business is expected to close in the third quarter of the year.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/citigroup-sells-turkish-operations-as-it-pares-back-internationally/?partner=rss&emc=rss