Citicorp to Keep Banamex

Lede of the day comes from Reuters:

Citigroup Inc views its Mexican banking unit Banamex as a solid business and has no plans to sell it, sources familiar with the matter said.

And here was me thinking that Citi’s few remaining solid businesses were the ones they were most likely to sell.

It’s an interesting decision, given that Banamex has been operated largely at arm’s length since its acquisition; that it’s the one arm of the Citi empire which has stubbornly refused to adopt the Citi name; and that it was never part of the old Citicorp. But you do need to be in truly dire straits before you decide to sell off a powerful monopoly like Banamex.