FILE PHOTO: Jane Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of Citi, looks on during the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, in Hong Kong, China November 7, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

(Reuters) -Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is in Mexico City for talks with President Claudia Sheinbaum that include the potential public listing of the bank's retail unit Banamex, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. Citigroup did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Fraser told analysts on a conference call in July that New York-based bank is on track to carry out an IPO of its Mexican unit Banamex by year-end.

Citi has been courting wealthy Mexicans to buy a chunk of Banamex that could be built into a controlling stake, the report said, adding that Mexican businessman Fernando Chico Pardo is seeking to acquire about a 20% stake of Citi's Banamex unit ahead of its IPO.

In 2023, Citi scrapped a $7-billion sale of its Mexican consumer unit to Mexican billionaire German Larrea's conglomerate Grupo Mexico, following tensions between the group and then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led to the deal falling apart.

(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)