Citigroup Denies Considering Acquisition of US Regional Bank or Brokerage

Citigroup is considering acquiring a major U.S. regional bank or a brokerage, Bloomberg reported Friday (March 27), citing unnamed sources and adding that Citigroup said the report was “baseless speculation.”

The bank’s executives are weighing the move to gain more deposits that could fuel Citibank’s lending and trading operations, the report said, citing the unnamed sources.

Citigroup operates under two consent orders that require it to seek regulatory approval before attempting to make an acquisition, but when executives brought up the idea with U.S. regulators, the regulators signaled willingness to consider a proposal, per the report.

Asked about the report by Bloomberg, Citigroup said, per the report: “The suggestion that Citi is planning to buy a regional bank, wealth brokerage — or any other financial services firm — is baseless speculation. At this time, we are solely focused on growing organically by executing our strategy and completing our transformation.”

According to the Bloomberg report, while Citigroup is the third-largest U.S. bank, its U.S. retail arm is far smaller than JPMorgan. In terms of average deposits, Citigroup’s U.S. personal banking unit had $89 billion, while JPMorgan’s consumer and community banking division had $1.1 trillion.

The consent orders under which Citigroup operates were imposed in 2020 by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which demand that the bank improve technology and procedures in order to better detect mistakes such as problematic transactions and risky trades.

In December 2025, the OCC terminated a July 2024 amendment to a consent order having to do with deficiencies in Citi’s risk management systems. The amendment mandated that the bank implement a quarterly process to ensure it was allocating sufficient resources to meet the milestones included in the consent order. When terminating the amendment, the OCC said it believes that “the safety and soundness of the bank and its compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the amendment.”

Citigroup said in September 2023 that it was embarking on a major restructuring of its organization that would eliminate a number of management layers. The new structure elevated the leaders of the bank’s five businesses while also doing away with a number of positions.

PYMNTS reported in October 2025 that Citi CEO Jane Fraser’s multiyear effort to rebuild the bank into a leaner, technology-driven institution was beginning to deliver results.