Citi has no plans to establish a retail banking subsidiary in India, Citi India chief executive Pramit Jhaveri has said.
The latest development comes at a time when Citi is looking to invest in segments like credit cards and home loans in India.
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Jhaveri was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that the current rules in India were sufficient to allow Citi, which is the largest foreign bank by assets in the country, to grow its retail business without taking the subsidiary route.
"Our strategy does not involve us going out there and building hundreds and thousands of branches. That is not our aspiration. We think there’s enough to do within what we already have," he said.
Explaining the reason behind such an approach, Jhaveri told the news agency that it was "not sensible" for Citi to become a full-scale Indian retail operation competing for deposits nationwide against major local players such as State Bank of India and ICICI.
Of the 105,000 Indian bank branches, Citi has only 43, and has been allowed to open only three new locations in the past four years.
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