CAIRO, Aug 25 (Aswat Masriya) - The private sector Commercial International Bank (CIB) said it has received approval from the Egyptian state's central bank to acquire Citibank Egypt's retail portfolio, CIB said on Tuesday. 

CIB, the largest bank listed in the Egyptian stock market, is in the process of taking executive procedures for the merger, it announced in a statement to the Egyptian stock exchange. 

Citibank Egypt is part of the banking division belonging to American financial services corporation Citigroup. In October 2014, the group announced its intention to "exit its consumer businesses in 11 markets," including the Egyptian market.

Citibank signed an agreement with CIB in June, to see the latter acquire the Citibank Egypt's retail banking and card businesses. 

At the time, the agreement was pending regulatory approval, CIB said in a statement on its website. 

CIB's Chairman Hisham Ezz Al-Arab said in June that the two banks have a "very similar" culture, adding "we anticipate that the integration of Citi's staff into the CIB family will be seamless and add significant value to our clients and shareholders."