HSBC are waiting to pounce on Citigroup

Whilst Citigroup (NYSE:C) was on the verge of collapse at the weekend, HSBC were eyeballing some of the Citi’s in Latin America and Asia, they are said to be waiting to see if Citigroup board decides on a limited sale of assets or a breakup.

It’s the businesses in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil that Citigroup are most interested in according to press reports. The chairman of HSBC, Stephen Green, said in an interview earlier today that they didn’t rule out the purchase of particular Citigroup assets as long as they fitted in with HSBC’s strategy and pose the right focus on emerging markets, He also added that the bank considering adding the “right mix” of Citigroup assets.

It’s been rumoured that troubled American banks such as Lehman Brothers Holdings before it collapsed and Merrill Lynch have both approached HSBC to offload some of their assets to raise capital.

By Monday afternoon in London shares of HSBC (LON:HSBA) were trading up 7.25p or 1.2 percent at 633.25.

Source: Forbes