Citibank Singapore is reportedly planning to shut down a key banking unit that serves small businesses.
According to a local financial daily The Business Times, the lender will close the Citibusiness unit in mid-August. The decision was taken following a strategic review of the business.
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Citibusiness operates under the bank’s consumer banking division.
The closure is expected to impact around 20 to 30 staff. However, Citi will work with various agencies to support the affected employees with redeployment.
A Citi spokesperson was quoted by The Business Times as saying: “Following ongoing strategic reviews of our plans for our small business banking in Singapore, we will be re-allocating these resources and our people to support other growth areas and sharpen our client focus.”
After the unit closes, the lender will continue to serve small and medium-sized businesses through Citi Commercial Bank.
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By GlobalDataThe spokesperson further told the publication: “Singapore is a priority market for Citi. We continue to invest and focus on growth areas of the bank including the SME and commercial banking business.”
The move comes after Citi announced its retreat from 13 retail banking markets in April to focus on wealth management. The company will specifically exit Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the first quarter of this year, the banking group reported a net income of $7.9bn.
