Two U.S.-based private equity companies have won the bidding war for CitiGroup Inc.'s Canadian subprime lender.
J.C. Flowers and Co. and Varde Partners will pay an undisclosed amount for high-risk lender CitiFinancial Canada, which has $2.5-billion in assets, 217 branches and 1,300 employees.
CitiFinancial offers unsecured personal loans at 27.99 per cent, mortgages at 10.35 per cent, as well as financial services to Canada's retailers. The lender has more than 250,000 Canadian clients, CitiGroup said.
The Globe's Andrew Willis previously reported the deal, which is subject regulatory approvals, could be worth more than $400-million.
CitiFinancial was pursued by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and several private equity companies, which have been buying the consumer finance divisions spun off by U.S. lenders facing new regulations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Story
ON THE MOVE
Shifting roles at RBC
Royal Bank of Canada head of corporate strategy and development Jamie Anderson will retire from the bank early in the new year, and the veteran deal maker's replacement signals that RBC plans to continue expanding in the U.S. market.
Mr. Anderson, 63, recently began informing colleagues and clients that he will wrap up a storied career with RBC at the end of January, 2017.
RBC announced internally that executive vice-president Mike Dobbins, a 48-year-old who is currently responsible for U.S. retail banking, will take over as the bank's head of corporate strategy and development.
Mr. Anderson and Mr. Dobbins worked together on RBC's $5-billion (U.S.) acquisition of Los Angeles-based City National Corp. in 2015, a landmark deal for RBC, as it set the stage for expansion of a U.S. retail platform that caters to wealthy clients. Mr. Dobbins joined RBC in 2010 from U.S. retail bank Capital One. Story
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