Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco is negotiating to buy Citigroup’s consumer-banking operations in Brazil. The bank did not provide any other details. Citigroup has said it was planning to sell its consumer operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Earlier, Banco Santander said it is interested in Citi’s business in Brazil but there was no progress in this regard. Brazil’s banking industry is highly concentrated among five banks – Itau, Banco Bradesco, Santander and government-owned Banco do Brasil and Caixa Economica Federal. Citi’s business in Brazil has just 1% of the financial system’s assets.
