Citibank N.A. India has topped ₹1 trillion in institutional assets, nearly doubling its ₹53,000-crore book since exiting the consumer business in March 2023. According to reports from Business Standard, the bank sold its consumer business to Axis Bank for a final consideration of over ₹11,600 crore, as part of its strategy to sharpen focus on institutional and corporate banking across markets, including India.
The bank added about ₹24,000 crore to its institutional asset book in the last 12 months, representing a 30 per cent increase. As reported by Business Standard, this growth reflects robust client activity, increased capital investment, expanding trade flows and sustained financing demand across key sectors of the economy. Approximately 60 per cent of the growth came from loans, comprising trade loans, corporate loans and other financing products.
According to Business Standard, the remaining growth came from structured products, including securitisation, commercial paper, corporate bonds and related products, which have grown nearly fivefold over the same period. Jeegar Shah, chief financial officer of Citi India, stated that the strategy refresh has been accretive, with the bank doubling down on institutional business where it delivers sustained competitive differentiation and creates meaningful value for clients.
Roshni Shroff, country treasurer of Citi India, told Business Standard that the growth has been driven by client demand but underpinned by disciplined liquidity, funding, capital and risk management. She emphasized that the bank's credit numbers, capital ratios and liquidity ratios are publicly available, clearly showing a robust risk culture. The institutional asset book is spread across Indian corporates, multinational companies, financial institutions and commercial banking clients.
The consumer banking exit was part of a broader global strategy announced by chief executive Jane Fraser in 2021, with plans to exit consumer banking in 13 markets. Following Citi's exit, several foreign banks including Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank have also scaled back or exited their retail franchises in India, with similar transactions covering significant business portfolios and customer bases.
