Citi could sell Primerica, Texas business: Ladenburg's Bove

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) could sell its Primerica financial services unit and its First American banking subsidiary in Texas as the bank continues to restructure its business, Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Richard Bove said in a research note.

In the note, Bove said Primerica does not fit into Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's goals of making the bank an international company across business lines and estimates Primerica could fetch as much as $7.5 billion, or 15 times Primerica's annual earnings.

He also said regional retail banking outside of New York and California might not fit into the bank's long-term strategy, making the sale of First American likely, at a price of about $500 million.

The note recommends buying Citi stock.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)