New Delhi/New York, Apr 16 (IANS): In a global restructuring to allocate resources in markets with scale, Citigroup will exit consumer banking operations in India as well as 12 other countries.

The multinational investment bank headquartered in New York on Thursday announced strategic actions in the global consumer banking segment as part of an ongoing strategic review, which will allow Citi to direct investments and resources to the businesses where it has greatest scale and growth potential.

The announcement was made as Citigroup reported its first quarter results.

Citi will focus its global consumer banking presence in Asia and EMEA on four wealth centres — Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and London. As a result, Citi intends to pursue exits from its consumer franchises in 13 markets across the two regions.

The affected businesses include the consumer franchises in India, Australia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group will continue to serve clients in these markets, which remain important to Citi's global network.

Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup, said, "As a result of the ongoing refresh of our strategy, we have decided that we are going to double down on wealth. We will operate our consumer banking franchise in Asia and EMEA solely from four wealth centres -- Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and London. This positions us to capture the strong growth and attractive returns the wealth management business offers through these important hubs.

"While the other 13 markets have excellent businesses, we don't have the scale we need to compete. We believe our capital, investment dollars and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia. We will continue to update you on strategic decisions as we make them while we work to increase the returns we deliver to our shareholders."