Citigroup announced on Thursday that it will abandon retail banking operations in 13 Asian countries, including India, and parts of Europe to focus more on managing wealth outside the U.S.
Announcing the announcement, CEO Jane Fraser, who took over the reins of the company in February this year, said Citigroup plans to focus on its non-US consumer banking operations in the UAE, Singapore, London and Hong Kong, as these places have a high concentration of wealth.
She said Citigroup lacks a scale to compete in the 13 markets it is leaving. However, investment banking operations will continue in these markets.
Also read: Why is Citigroup exiting the consumer business in India?
In addition to India, the third-largest U.S. bank will leave consumer operations in China, Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Korea, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Poland and Taiwan.
Will this move affect customers in India?
The decision marks the exit of India’s oldest foreign banking entity, Citi Bank. Citi Bank has a balance sheet in India of 2.18 lakh crore. As of March 2020, it had 3 million retail customers, over one million bank accounts and over 2 million credit cards in the country. The deposit in the bank amounted to about 1.57 lakh crowns for 2019-20.
Citigroup will have to find a buyer to exit the business with banks in India, and the Indian Reserve Bank will have to approve the buyer. All Citi Bank depositors, loans and credit cards will be transferred to the customer without any problems, making them customers of the acquiring bank. However, it is unlikely that this move will have any material impact on the bank’s customers or Citigroup’s customers. Ashu Khullar, CEO of Citi India, also confirmed the same.
“As a result of this announcement, there are no immediate changes in our business and no immediate impact on our colleagues. In the meantime, we will continue to serve our clients with the same attention, empathy and dedication as we do today,” Khullar said.
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