Citibank Romania shuts down 30 of its 39 CitiFinancial Centers

The reorganizing process will spread over the first quarter of the year and will include laying off 80-90 people. Prior to this process, the bank was operating eight centers for business, 39 agencies for the population and 50 selling centers. When restructuring is completed, it will hold 59 contact points in 35 cities.

Clients of closed units will be redirected to near-by offices. The bank will still give credit cards and loans through alternative channels.

What's more, the bank plans to launch retail wealth management services for the population in the first part of the year.

All the activities in Romania will belong to Citicorp, after the group announced on January16 that it will be reorganized in two different units, Citicorp and Citi Holding.

Citicorp will focus on global banking services, while Citi Holding will deal with brokerage activities, assets management, consumer finance and the management of so called toxic assets.

On December 22, Citibank Romania, the subsidiary of Citibank Europe registered in Ireland and part of the American group Citi, will become a local branch starting with January 1 2009 and will shift most operations from the surveillance of Romania's Central Bank (BNR) to the Irish central lender.