Santander Says It Is Mexican Enough to Bid on Citi’s Banamex

Even as a foreign-owned titan in Mexico, Banco Santander has arguments to convince the country’s nationalist president that it could be a good fit with Citigroup’s Banamex operations, the Spanish bank’s country chief Hector Grisi said in an interview.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated last week at Mexico’s banking convention that he wants local investors to buy Citi’s consumer business after it went up for sale, but said the government would not try to block the process.

Grisi said that Santander would first need to see exactly what Citi is putting up for sale when data becomes available ...