Citi’s exit from China retail banking business to affect 1,200 employees
- American bank announced plans to exit consumer banking in 14 markets internationally last year
- Citigroup has announced sales in nine markets, and is also winding down its Korean retail banking and Russian operations
Citigroup said it plans to wind down its consumer banking operations business in mainland China after failing to find a buyer for the business since first announcing plans to exit retail banking businesses in 14 international markets last year.
The move will affect 1,200 employees and Citi said it would explore options for employees who wish to continue to work for the bank in China or across its global network.
The American bank said it would continue to actively pursue sales for portfolios within the business, which include insurance, mortgages, loans and cards. The wind down does not include its institutional or wealth management businesses in China, the bank said.
“While we explored multiple strategic options for our China consumer business over the past several months, we believe that this path makes the most sense and we are focused on a seamless transition for our clients, partners and colleagues,” said Titi Cole, CEO of Citi’s legacy franchises.
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Citigroup is in the process of exiting consumer banking businesses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Mexico as part of a refresh of its strategy.
First announced in April 2021, the bank said it wanted to focus on international wealth centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom and leave markets where it lacks scale to compete.
Citi has since announced sales in nine of the markets, as well as plans to wind down its Korean consumer business and its Russian operations.
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The cost of the Chinese consumer business wind down is not expected to be material to its “operational results and its financial condition”, the bank said.
The exit will be carried out in compliance with applicable regulations and Citi will honour its obligations to clients, employees and partners, the bank said.
Despite winding down the consumer business, Citi continues to seek to expand its offering for institutional clients in the wealth management space in mainland China as Beijing further opens its financial markets to foreign financial services providers.
“We have been in China since 1902 and we will continue to support our clients in Citi’s global wealth management business and market leading institutional franchise in the country,” Christine Lam, CEO of Citi China, said.
