Citigroup Inc. on Tuesday took a step forward in its drive to do away with its noncore or unwanted assets by announcing the sale of its Diners Club North American credit card business to Canada based BMO Financial Group. Under the agreement, BMO will gain exclusive rights to issue Diners Club cards across the US and Canada.

With the purchase, BMO will add almost US$1 Billion of receivables and US$7.8 Billion worth of card transactions to its bag, in addition to taking its corporate card business to a new high of more than double. Diners Clubs card are preferred by business travelers everywhere.

Presently, Diners Club is a part of Citi Holdings, a unit of Citigroup that includes assets of the bank which are either troubled or under-performing, and are in-line for sale. All other assets, which include the New York based bank's retail and investment franchises, among others, are housed under Citicorp.

The deal, which is expected to close before the end of March next year, is currently subject to regulatory approvals, which are due to come in soon. No other details have yet been disclosed by either of the parties involved.