Citigroup To Shut 2 UK Personal Loan Ops; May Cut 650 Jobs

May.19, 2008 in Market Outlook

Last Update: 5/19/2008 5:11:25 PM

LONDON (AP)–Citigroup Inc. (C) will close two of its U.K. personal loan
operations and could cut more than 650 jobs, the embattled banking giant said
Monday.

Citi UK said that from Wednesday it will also stop offering loans through its
Future Mortgages and CitiFinancial arms, which deal mainly in subprime mortgages
and unsecured personal loans.

“This business realignment reflects Citi’s recently announced global focus of
allocating capital to the best opportunities for growth,” the company said in a
statement.

Citigroup didn’t say specifically how many jobs it would cut, but the bank wants
to close its office at Doxford, in northeast England, and various CitiFinancial
locations throughout the country that it says employ a total of more than 650
people.

The company said the online bank Egg, which it bought from Prudential PLC (PUK)
last year, won’t be affected.

Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit has launched a painful restructuring
process in the hope of restoring profitability to the bank, which was badly
bruised by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

Earlier this month, Pandit told investors that the bank wants to shed between
$400 billion and $500 billion worth of “noncore” assets over the next three
years.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2008 17:11 ET (21:11 GMT)

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