Citigroup Inc. said Monday that it has acquired the banking company Grupo Financiero Uno, which has 75 branches in six Central American countries and is the region's largest credit card issuer.
The $1.88 trillion-asset Citi named Edgardo del Rincon Gutierrez chief executive of Grupo Financiero Uno. The $2.1 billion-asset company is based in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama; it is not headquartered in any one nation, Citi said.
Citi, which announced the deal Oct. 27, did not say what it paid for the privately owned Grupo Financiero Uno.
Mr. del Rincon Gutierrez was general director of Credito Familiar for Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival, Citi's Mexican banking arm, which the New York company acquired in 2001. He had been with Banamex since 1985.
Citi has been an active acquirer on the international front in recent months. On March 1 it bought Quilter Holdings Ltd., a wealth advisory m based in London, and Bloomberg News reported Monday that it was closer to gaining a larger stake in Nikko Cordial Corp. of Tokyo.
The story cited two people who were briefed on the potential deal, in which Citi would increase its 4.9% stake to at least 33.4% and gain "veto powers over Nikko's management."
Citi did not comment by press time.
