Citigroup was considering the purchase of a US regional bank or a wealth brokerage to add deposits, Bloomberg reported on 27 March, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, executives had raised the idea with regulators, who appeared open to reviewing a proposal. Bloomberg cited lenders with about $500 billion in assets, such as Truist Financial and PNC Financial Services, and brokerages such as Stifel Financial and Raymond James, as the kind of firms that could interest Citi; no specific target was confirmed.
Citi rejected the report the same day, calling it “baseless speculation” and saying the bank was focused solely on growing organically. Its shares were down about 4% in afternoon trading in New York after the report.
WHY DEPOSITS MATTER
Under chief executive Jane Fraser, Citi has spent five years simplifying the company, streamlining its workforce and improving returns. Its US retail arm is far smaller than JPMorgan's: Citi's US personal banking unit had average deposits of $89 billion, against $1.1 trillion at JPMorgan's consumer and community banking division, according to the Bloomberg report.
Citi remains under two consent orders, imposed in 2020 by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, that require it to seek regulatory approval before attempting an acquisition.
Sources: Bloomberg, 27 March 2026; PYMNTS, 27 March 2026.
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