Citi to sell retail arms in 4 Southeast Asian markets to Singapore's UOB

UOB buying Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam operations

Citigroup has agreed to sell its consumer business in four Southeast Asian markets to United Overseas Bank (UOB) for S$4.915 billion ($3.65 billion), bringing the U.S. bank closer to its goal of exiting retail operations in 13 markets.

The proposed acquisition by UOB will be its biggest in two decades and will double the group's retail customer base in the four markets in Southeast Asia, where the Singapore bank already has a large presence and competes with rivals DBS Group and OCBC.

Citi's exit from Southeast Asia comes after CEO Jane Fraser said last year the bank would close retail