Citigroup's Mexican unit chief Medina-Mora said to plan to leave

Citigroup Inc Co-President Manuel Medina-Mora has been telling colleagues that he is close to retiring as the Mexican unit he helped build fights fraud allegations, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

CEO Michael Corbat, who on Tuesday described a fraud discovered in Mexico as "appalling," respects Medina-Mora and the business he developed, the person said. Medina-Mora turns 65 in August, and his retirement at that age wouldn't be a shock, the person said. The decision could be made in coming months, the person said.

Banamex, the Mexican division that has been held up as an example of profitable banking business at Citigroup, has suffered this year from fraud accusations, including one disclosed on Tuesday. The unit's CEO, Javier Arrigunaga, resigned this month "in light of the difficult challenges our franchise in Mexico has faced over the past year," Medina-Mora said in an October 3 statement.