(Yicai) June 11 -- HSBC Holdings has completed the acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer wealth management business in the Chinese mainland.

HSBC Bank China has taken over Citibank China’s consumer wealth clients and related assets in 11 major Chinese mainland cities, as well as its 300 employees, UK banking giant HSBC announced today.

Citigroup announced last October that HSBS had agreed to buy its consumer wealth business in China, which had assets and deposits of about USD3.6 billion. The US financial behemoth said in December 2022 that it would close its consumer banking business in the Chinese mainland after selling similar operations in eight markets, including Australia and India.

HSBC is optimistic about the growth potential of the Chinese market and will continue investing more in the country in the long term, said Wang Yunfeng, president and chief executive officer of HSBC Bank China.

HSBC has invested billions of Chinese yuan, equal to hundreds of millions of US dollars, in the Chinese mainland in recent years, with a significant portion of the investment focusing on the fast-growing wealth management sector, Wang noted, adding that after the acquisition, HSBC can consolidate its competitive advantage in the wealth management sector for foreign banks.

The wealth management assets in the Chinese market HSBC invested in last year grew 53 percent from the previous year, and the number of its wealth management clients climbed over 30 percent.

Citigroup ranked seventh by tier-one capital strength in The Banker’s Top 1,000 World Banks 2023 list released in July last year. HSBC ranked 10th.

Editor: Futura Costaglione