Citigroup is about to become a slightly smaller group. Here in the United States, for example, the global bank once sought retail banking customers in fourteen cities. In cities where there are fewer Citibank branches, the company has been quietly selling their branches and leaving town.

The six markets where Citibank plans to stay in business are its home of New York City, and also Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Miami. The bank once focused on fourteen large cities across the country, but has now left those areas. The last two U.S. cities where it closed branches were Dallas and Houston. BB&T purchased those bank branches in Texas from Citibank, taking over the customers.

About half of Citigroup’s earnings come from their retail banking operations, so there’s a challenge when cutting back their presence around the world. If they need to earn the same amount of money with fewer branches, let’s hope that they don’t do so by raising fees on existing customers, or cutting back on competent customer service.

Citigroup quietly scales back in consumer banking [Reuters]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.