US banking major Citibank to exit consumer banking business in India

This is part of the bank's global strategy

American banking major Citibank on Thursday announced that it will exit from the consumer banking business in India as part of a global strategy.

The business comprises credit cards, retail banking, home loans and wealth management.

The bank has 35 branches in the country and employs approximately 4,000 people in the consumer banking business.

On Thursday, the bank announced exiting from the consumer banking businesses in 13 countries, with its global CEO Jane Fraser attributing the decision to an absence of scale to compete in these geographies.

Contours of the exit were not immediately known and the proposed exit from the consumer banking business will also need regulatory nods.

"There is no immediate change to our operations and no immediate impact to our colleagues as a result of this announcement. In the interim, we will continue to serve our clients with the same care, empathy and dedication that we do today," Citi India's Chief Executive Ashu Khullar said.

" the sharpened strategy announced today will strengthen our ability to bring the full global power of Citi to our institutional clients, reinforcing our leading positions across corporate, commercial and investment banking, treasury and trade solutions, as well as markets and securities services," he added.

Citi had entered India in 1902 and started the consumer banking business in 1985.

Apart from the institutional banking business, it will continue to focus on offshoring or global business support rendered from centres in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gurugram.

Khullar said India is a strategic talent pool for Citi and it will continue to grow the five 'Citi Solution Centers'.

At present, there are postings for 4,000 jobs at the solution centres posted on its hiring website, officials said.

Citi had reported a post-tax net of Rs 4,912 crore for FY20 as against Rs 4,185 crore in the previous fiscal.

Its retail bank serves people across the spectrum, including the salaried and the high networth individuals, through dedicated offerings.