The New York-based company continues to weigh both a sale and an initial public offering of the unit, long known as Banamex.
“It’s taken a little bit longer than expected, considering everything that’s been going on in the markets lately,” Fraser said Monday during the firm’s annual shareholder meeting. “We are going to be very committed, as always, to take the path that best suits shareholders.”
Investors are closely watching the bank’s progress on the divestment, which it first announced more than a year ago after the company said a deal for the business could temporarily affect capital levels. This has partly hampered Citigroup’s ability to restart share buybacks in recent quarters.
Also at the meeting, shareholders preliminarily approved a series of proposals made by the company’s management on executive compensation and the list of directors for the company’s board. At the same time, investors rejected a series of shareholder proposals on climate change.
Fraser said the company benefited from the turmoil that hit regional banks last month, noting that Citigroup saw an influx of deposits as customers flocked to lenders they considered safe. However, he added, that activity has slowed in recent weeks.
“We have seen a lull in the market turmoil,” Fraser said, “and deposit outflows from troubled entities have slowed significantly from where they were a few weeks ago.”
