(12 February 2008 – Australia) Citibank and Suncorp have entered into a long term credit card partnership which will allow both banks to focus on their operational strengths.Citibank has added to its Australian credit cards business with the acquisition of Suncorp’s $225 million credit card portfolio. The acquisition adds 100,000 cards to the Citibank portfolio.
For Citibank, the partnership follows agreements with Credit Union Services Corporation’s (CUSCAL), Bank of Queensland, and a co-brand arrangement with BP.
Citibank Australia chief executive Les Matheson said that this is part of Citibank’s strategy to stake out a larger slice of the Australian credit card market via both organic and inorganic growth.
Mr Matheson indicated that this was focusing on Citibank’s strengths in credit card technology platforms.
Suncorp group executive, Retail Banking, David Foster, said that this will allow Suncorp to concentrate on the products and services that they believe are best suited to their skills.
Under the sale agreement, all cards will be branded Suncorp with Citibank responsible for operational and credit risk, technology platforms, issuance and back office processing, customer service and portfolio management.