Citigroup sells NikkoCiti Trust to Nomura Trust

[July 01, 2009]  TOKYO (AP) -- Nomura Trust and Banking Co. is acquiring NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corp. from Citigroup Inc. for 19 billion yen ($196 million) as the U.S. financial group scales back its Japan business.

The sale of the trust bank -- a financial institution that combines banking and the functions of a trust company -- is part of Citigroup's efforts to cope with the global financial crisis. The deal is expected to close about October, pending regulatory approval and other conditions, Nomura said Wednesday.

Citigroup, among the hardest hit U.S. banks by the credit crisis and ongoing recession, has been shedding assets and trying to streamline operations in an effort to return to profitability. The New York-based bank has already received $45 billion in funds from the U.S. government, a majority of which is now being converted into an equity stake. That conversion will give the U.S. government a 34 percent ownership stake in Citi.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. agreed last December to buy NikkoCiti Trust for 25 billion yen but pulled out in May, prompting Citigroup to look for a new buyer.

In May, Japan's No. 3 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said it will take over Citigroup's Japan brokerage businesses, the first acquisition in Japan of a leading brokerage by a bank.

Sumitomo Mitsui acquired Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. and some parts of Nikko Citigroup's Japan operations for about 545 billion yen ($5.6 billion).

Several financial institutions had been bidding for NikkoCiti Trust, but Nomura Trust expects to expand its business by acquiring NikkoCiti Trust, known for its strength in investment trusts, according to Kyodo News agency.

NikkoCiti Trust, founded in 1993, employed about 100 people and had capital of 20 billion yen. Total trust assets stood at about 4.5 trillion yen.

[Associated Press]

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