Big four bank NAB has hired Bank of America to help it secure Citigroups $2 billion-odd Australian retail business.
Street Talk can reveal NABs bankers have BoA at hand helping them run the numbers, with the auction said to be in the final stages and NAB emerging as a frontrunner.
Fresh from acquiring neobank 86400, Ross McEwan and his dealmakers at NAB have turned their attention to Citis Australian retail business.  Alex Ellinghausen
NAB finally outed itself as a bidder on Tuesday night, confirming it was in discussions to buy Citis business. It said there was no guarantee that a transaction would be signed.
NABs interest is threefold: it reckons Citis consumer business can help grow its retail book, it likes the look of Citis expertise in unsecured lending and it would fit with CEO Ross McEwans simple and digital strategy.
Citis consumer division in Australia provides services to more than 1 million people, and more than 90 per cent of customers come to the lender via digital channels.
The bank has about $11.5 billion in total residents loans and finance leases in Australia, according to APRA data, including $6.6 billion in housing loans and $3.6 billion in its credit cards division.
Citis own investment banking team is running the sale, which is part of the groups broader retreat from retail banking business in the region.