Last week, Citigroup said it will exit its consumer franchises(retail banking segments) in 13 countries – India, Australia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Those resources would be “deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia.” according to Citi CEO.
Why?
Retail banking is more hectic compared to institutional banking(catering to businesses) in that it requires more man power, attending to consumer queries and after sales services. The countries mentioned above form about 40-50% of world population.
Steady decline in global consumer banking income as mentioned in the quarterly results here.
Citi being a pioneer in the credit cards industry, this exit will be a boon to the local credit card providers.