by JIANG Yiman

China UnionPay said it had ended Citibank China's membership without giving a reason. The move means Citi can no longer process payments through UnionPay. According to Caizhongshe, the number of foreign banks with UnionPay membership has dropped from nine to eight, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of East Asia, DBS, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, MUFG and Hang Seng Bank.

The withdrawal comes shortly after a leadership reshuffle at Citi China. On August 15, corporate filings showed that Lo Wai Ming Steven stepped down as chairman and was succeeded by San Aveline Pau Len. In July, Zhang Wenjie was appointed legal representative, director and general manager, taking over from Yang Changhao and Nadir Sarela.

Citi set up Citibank (China) Co. in 2007 as one of the first locally incorporated foreign banks. But in recent years it has been scaling back retail operations in the country. In 2021, Citigroup announced plans to exit personal banking in 14 markets, including mainland China.

In October 2023, it agreed to sell its mainland wealth management business to HSBC China. The following January, Citi said its mainland credit card services would stop processing transactions from May 6, 2024. In May 2024, regulators revoked its insurance intermediary license. HSBC China completed the acquisition of Citi’s wealth management unit the next month.