Blackstone Group and other private equity firms have held informal talks with Citigroup Inc over its auto loan unit CitiFinancial Auto, the New York Post said, citing sources.

The unit maintains a loan portfolio of about $16 billion, according to the paper.

Blackstone and Citigroup could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

The U.S. government injected $45 billion into Citigroup and is the bank's largest shareholder, with a roughly 34 percent stake.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes)

Investment Citigroup