Citi to exit municipal business (2024)

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Citi to exit municipal business? ›

Making money in the $4 trillion municipal bond market is harder than ever after a two-decade long drop in underwriting markups pinched bottom lines, contributing to pullback by major Wall Street firms such as Citigroup Inc. and UBS Group AG.

In December, Citigroup made what for decades would have been an unthinkable announcement. It was closing its municipal bond underwriting and trading business, one of the most prominent in the $4 trillion market. The shuttering currently underway is part of Citi's restructuring, which has already eliminated 20,000 jobs.

Citi 's exit from the municipal business late last year , on the heels of UBS ' closure of its negotiated underwriting business in October , has brought about a redistribution of high-level bankers, traders and other market players to a broad range of municipal firms that is leading to an evolved muni market landscape ...

On September 13th Ms Fraser announced a restructuring. She later laid out plans to sack 20,000 people by the end of 2026, some 7,000 of whom have already been shown the door. Investors seem to be rediscovering their faith in the firm.

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) , opens new tab will exit its Citibanamex consumer banking business in Mexico, the bank said on Tuesday ending its 20-year retail presence in the country that was the last of its overseas consumer businesses.

Profitability, cost reduction, and organizational restructuring underpin Citibank's transformation. Citibank's transformation involves closing 4,000 branches globally, reducing costs by 25-50%, and simplifying its organizational structure to enhance client service and focus investments.

On Friday, the company said it has laid off or provided layoff notifications to 7,000 employees, bringing it closer to its goal of reducing the staff by 20,000 by 2026.

Citigroup possesses several competitive advantages that position it well in the dynamic and competitive financial services industry. Its extensive global presence, diversified business model, strong brand reputation, and robust risk management practices contribute to its resilience and competitiveness.

Citi, for example, is investing heavily in a large-scale transformation of its CitiDirect^® banking and cash management platform. A global team of developers is replacing a legacy framework of tightly coupled applications with a flexible cloud-capable, microservices-based modular structure.

Why is Citigroup in trouble? ›

Federal regulators fine Citigroup $136 million for taking too long to fix internal control issues. NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of government regulators slapped Citigroup with a $135.6 million fine on Wednesday, saying the bank has made insufficient progress in resolving longstanding internal control and risk issues.

Expenses are too high, the staff is bloated, profit margins are too low, and Citi stock (ticker: C) has flatlined, especially compared to the bank's three main competitors, numbers compiled by Barron's show. CEO Jane Fraser has her work cut out for her, and she's chipping away at turning around the big bank.

In March 2023, Axis Bank said it completed its acquisition of Citibank's India consumer and non-banking finance businesses. The deal, announced in March 2022, has been closed for a cash consideration of $1.41 billion in one of the largest deals in the Indian financial services space.

The lender announced in January 2022 that it would exit Mexico, ending its 20-year retail presence in the country. The sale was part of a broader overhaul at the U.S. No. 3 bank, which has struggled for years to gain scale and profitability from a myriad of businesses worldwide.

Since announcing its intention to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico as part of its refresh, Citi has now closed sales in nine of those markets including Australia, Bahrain, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to Indonesia.

Citigroup has closed its consumer banking network in China as part of a global restructuring and is selling its retail wealth management portfolio. Liu had been with Citigroup since 2016, serving as its chief China economist through early 2022, before moving to its global wealth management arm.

Citigroup Inc. is a diversified financial services holding company that provides a broad range of financial services to consumer and corporate customers. The Company services include investment banking, retail brokerage, corporate banking, and cash management products and services.

Since 10 June, climate activists have been peacefully protesting against Citibank's record financial support for new fossil fuel projects as part of the Summer of Heat on Wall Street campaign.

Citigroup

Citicorp LLC

Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Bank of New York.