Citibank posts record growth in revenues

Citibank is the flagship bank of Citigroup, which is one of the largest foreign investors in India with a deployed capital base approaching $ 1 billion.

Sanjay Nayar, ceo Citigroup - India and area head, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal said, "The strong franchise and relationships that Citibank has built with its customers have enabled it to deliver robust growth, which has been supported by a sound risk profile that ensured provision and losses were maintained at low levels. In a very competitive environment, Citibank continues to innovate and sustain its leadership across credit cards, consumer financing, cash management, treasury activities and local and international capital markets."

In line with its strategy to grow its presence in India, Citibank has Added 10 branches over the last eighteen months increasing its presence to 21cities through 30 branches. Including the additional licenses it has received, it will enhance its reach even further to the top 26 cities through 37 branches before the end of the year.

Nayar added, "India is one of the priority countries for Citigroup and as a reaffirmation of this commitment, we will be retaining the entire earnings for 2003-2004 as capital in India to support our leadership positions and further growth. At a level of Rs.2,695 crore, the net worth of the bank represents a source of significant strength, reflecting the judicious retention policy of profits in prior years."

Sarvesh Sarup, country business manager, global consumer group, Citigroup India said, "As part of our strategic plan, Citibank is targeting to grow its retail customer base to over 10 million. Over the next couple of years, we will further increase our footprint to over 35 cities and in every line of business, we are launching products and services, which will expand the market for consumer financial services."

In a year marked by generally slow credit off-take due to surplus liquidity, the bank grew its advances and loans portfolio by 21% to Rs.15,259 Crore out of a total balance sheet of Rs.29,597 Crore: a significant portion was funded by customer deposits which were up 15% to Rs.20,465 Crore. Fees, commissions and other income grew by 17% to Rs 887 crores. Capital adequacy and NPAs remained robust at 11.1% and 1.4%, while the return on assets move up to a high of 3.55% from 2.88%, reflecting an increased penetration of the consumer and SME segment.