15 April 2021: In a major move, US banking company Citigroup announced on Thursday that it will exit 13 international consumer banking markets, including India and China, as part of its global strategy. The company said it would focus its global consumer banking business on four markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, London and the United Arab Emirates.
City India Chief Executive Ashu Khullar has assured that the decision will have no immediate effect on its employees and operations in India. “There has been no immediate change in our actions as a result of this announcement and no immediate impact on our partners. In the interim, we will continue to serve our customers with the same care, empathy and dedication as we do today, ”he said
However, the company has said that it has started searching for the buyer, officials told Moneycontrol.com. “Citi is not shutting down its consumer business here, but is only exiting. This decision will not affect the existing customers and employees in India. We will now seek a buyer for the Indian consumer business segment and also seek the necessary regulatory approvals.
The company, offering credit cards, retail banking, home loans and money management, has 35 branches in the country and employs around 4,000 people in the consumer banking business.
Citibank India currently has 2.9 million retail customers, 1.2 million bank accounts and 2.2 million credit card account holders. Although the company listed 4,000 jobs on its hiring section of the website, it is unclear whether it will be taken down following the recent decision.
City Chief Executive Jane Fraser said the exit was done by retail markets where “we don’t have the scale necessary to compete,” adding that the decision was an attempt to “double up” on wealth management Part was where growth opportunities are better.
In India, Citibank’s business includes institutional banking services as well as offshoring or global business support from the head offices of Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gurugram.
Most of the out-of-market markets are in Asia, where Citigroup’s global consumer banking business had $ 6.5 billion in revenue, 224 retail branches and $ 123.9 billion in deposits at the end of 2020.