Since the beginning of 2021,  (NYSE: C) has been working on a multiyear plan to modernize and simplify the bank, focus on better-performing businesses, and ultimately boost returns, which management hopes will lead to a higher valuation and stock price.

A key part of this plan had been selling the consumer, small business, and middle-market banking arm in Citigroup's Mexican subsidiary, Citibanamex, which has been a high-performing business. But recently, Citigroup said that it would no longer pursue a sale of these businesses and would instead spin them off in an initial public offering (IPO).

While this had always been a possibility, most believed a sale would be the likely outcome and the quickest way to expedite the bank's multiyear transformation, which makes this news disappointing. Here's why.

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Source Fool.com