CITI Splits

CITI Financial, among the largest finance companies operating in India, may sport the ‘For Sale’ sign, after its US-based parent Citigroup announced it was jettisoning its financial supermarket model that will split it into two separate businesses—Citicorp and Citi Holdings. Citicorp will hold all the good assets of the group, including the global bank, while Citi Holdings, which will include Citi Financial, will hold assets that the group will look to sell. The announcement came as the New York-based bank, which has been brought to heel by the US subprime crisis, posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter loss of $8.29 billion.