Citigroup U.S. Retail Bank Focusing on 6 Cities

Citigroup U.S. Retail Bank Focusing on 6 Cities

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc's U.S. retail banking business plans to focus its marketing efforts on six cities, a source familiar with the matter said, but the bank's chief executive said he does not plan to dramatically shrink its branch network.

The bank plans to extend branch hours, refurbish branches and boost marketing efforts in: New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

A report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday said Citigroup was looking to limit its overall consumer lending in the United States to credit cards and large mortgages, and plans to cater to largely affluent customers.

That report also said the bank may sell or scale bank its branches in cities such as Boston or Philadelphia.

In a memo to employees, CEO Vikram Pandit wrote, "We are in the right places, and while we continuously refine our branch locations, we are not anticipating any dramatic changes to our footprint -- despite recent media reports to the contrary."

The New York Times