The Citi Bank has decided to focus on its Global Consumer Bank presence in Asia and EMEA, in four wealth centers namely Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and London. The Citi Bank has decided to exit from its consumer franchises in thirteen markets across the two regions, Asia and EMEA. Citi Bank also confirmed in a statement that it will exit consumer banking businesses in 13 markets including India as part of a restructuring plan to focus only on four wealth centers in Asia. The regions where Citi banks have decided to exit its operations include India, Australia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Citi Bank officials have also confirmed that the bank will continue to serve customers in these 13 countries. Jane Fraser, who is the chief executive officer of Citi Bank said that they are going to double their wealth, post the refreshment of their strategy. Fraser also added that refreshing their strategy will position them to capture the strong growth and attractive returns, andthe wealth management business offers through these important hubs.
The main reason for the bank to exit their business in these 13 areas was that the bank was unable to find enough scale in the consumer business in the 13 markets and believes its “capital, investment dollars and other resources can be better utilized against higher returning opportunities in wealth management, and their institutional businesses in different parts of Asia. Citibank will continue to update their strategies and keep their customers updated regarding their decisions they make, while they are working to increase the returns they deliver to their shareholders. Citi Bank delivers good services and many of the account holders might not be happy with this decision of Citi Bank exiting the business in India. Citi Bank offered convenient access to user money. Even if the Citi Bank has high limit of balance maintenance, the services they offered are very convenient which might have attracted numerous customers. The decision of them exiting business might have put into worry for many Citi bank lovers. The main reason behind this decision to exit India business is that as many users in India cannot maintain the minimum account balance, which is almost 2 lacs for Citi bank. This might have let Citi bank think of backing out their business in India, as they cannot see a good growth and expects higher return if they invest their funds in other business outside these 13 countries, which they decided to quit business from.
