Citigroup Unit May Sell Card Arm

July 09, 2010, 6:41 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

Habib Bank Ltd. in Karachi is planning to buy the credit card portfolio of Citibank Pakistan, according to published reports.

The Karachi newspaper The News International said July 7 that Habib Bank is evaluating the Citigroup Inc. unit's credit card portfolio.

Citi stopped issuing new credit cards in Pakistan in mid-2009 as defaults mounted. It has about 60,000 credit-card holders after cleansing its portfolio of defaulters, according to The News. The bank issues MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc. cards.

Once Pakistan's leader in consumer financing, Citi has stopped providing personal loans, mortgages and car financing.

MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER

Community banking

A Utah bank is gone after 16 years of losses. Why did it survive so long?

Liberty Bank in Salt Lake City had been "structurally unprofitable" since 2008, according to its regulators. Experts criticized the FDIC for allowing the bank's demise to play out in slow motion.

By Polo Rocha

8h ago
Commercial banking

CRE focus 'unsustainable,' Valley National CEO says in strategy shift

The New York-based bank says it will push its concentration of commercial real estate loans below 400% of risk-based capital over the next two years and focus more on C&I.

By John Reosti

10h ago
Cryptocurrency

Anchorage Digital debuts crypto settlement network

The San Francisco-based firm's Anchorage Digital Trusted Liquidity and Settlement network, better known as Atlas, will allow clients to settle a range of cryptocurrency transactions.

By Frank Gargano

April 25
Payments

Bread Financial 'feverishly' preps for CFPB late-fee rule scenarios

Consumer spending slowed and charge-offs rose during the first quarter, but Bread Financial said a pending late-fee rule may not be as devastating to its revenue as the Columbus, Ohio-based firm initially feared.

By Kate Fitzgerald

April 25
Artificial intelligence

Banks don't talk about the energy AI guzzles. Here's why they should.

Artificial intelligence models are energy hogs. Climate First Bank and UBS are among the very few trying to solve this problem.

By Penny Crosman

April 25
Regulation and compliance

FDIC board debates, then withdraws asset manager control proposals

The FDIC board debated and ultimately withdrew two separate proposals to address asset managers' control over banks, but acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said he couldn't support either and called for more research and debate about how asset managers' control over banks impacts safety and soundness.

By Ebrima Santos Sanneh

April 25