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 Business News | May 2007 
Citigroup Offers No-Downpayment Mortgages in Mexico
 Noel Randewich - Reuters
| | Mexican banks have boosted lending in recent years after a financial crisis nearly wiped out the industry in the 1990s and dried up credit. |
Mexico City - Citigroup's Mexican bank, which is in the midst of a credit boom, said on Tuesday it will offer no-downpayment mortgages to attract low-income clients.
Banamex, Citigroup's bank in Mexico, said it reached a deal to have Genworth Financial Inc. insure the higher-risk mortgages.
Mexican banks have boosted lending in recent years after a financial crisis nearly wiped out the industry in the 1990s and dried up credit.
Banamex, one of Mexico's two largest banks, said earlier on Tuesday it expects to increase its loan portfolio by 30 percent this year. Mexico accounts for 9 percent of New York-based Citigroup's global operations.
While most home buyers in Mexico have low incomes, lenders rarely give mortgages to clients with sketchy credit histories, bankers say.
The so-called sub-prime mortgage market in the United States has run into trouble in recent months as falling real estate prices are triggering increasing numbers of defaults. |
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