Dec 2 (Reuters) - Citigroup ( C/PN ) has completed the

separation of Banamex from its institutional banking business in

Mexico as it prepares to list the retail bank, the Wall Street

giant said on Monday.

The move to split Grupo Financiero Citi México from Grupo

Financiero Banamex is part of Citi's sweeping overhaul under CEO

Jane Fraser aimed at simplifying its sprawling structure as it

looks to improve the bank's performance.

The New York-based bank is continuing to work on the

proposed initial public offering of Banamex, the timing of which

will depend on regulatory approvals and market conditions, Citi

said.

"This separation represents an important milestone in our

simplification," Fraser said. "We will now prepare for the

Banamex IPO."

Citi has weighed a dual stock listing for the Banamex unit,

possibly in Mexico City and New York, Reuters has reported.

The bank had previously said it planned to list its Banamex

unit, which caters to nearly 20 million clients and has a

network of 1,300 branches in Mexico, in 2025.

Citi was close to a $7 billion deal to sell Banamex to

Mexican billionaire German Larrea's conglomerate Grupo Mexico

last year.

But tensions between the conglomerate and Mexican President

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led to the two sides abandoning the

deal, with Citi deciding to pursue an IPO instead.

Citi México will maintain a "significant" presence in the

country and continue to serve the bank's institutional clients

with a team of roughly 3,000 employees.

The bank has closed its consumer banking divisions in nine

markets since announcing its intention to exit the business

across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Mexico,

it said. Citi currently has a sale process underway in Poland.

Citi said its previously announced wind-downs of consumer

businesses in China and Korea and overall presence in Russia are

also nearly complete.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Tatiana

Bautzer in New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva)