In Malaysia, where Citi has been in for more than six decades, Citi Malaysia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Usman Ahmed assured that the move will not dilute the group's long-term commitment to the country or the Asia Pacific region. Citi has 10 branches in Malaysia — six in the Klang Valley, with one each in Johor and Melaka, and two in Penang, according to its website.

“With this strategic repositioning, we will be able to further invest our resources in significantly growing our institutional business in Malaysia, which spans across corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, markets (including equity brokerage) and treasury and trade solutions.

"In addition, our Citi Solutions Centers in Kuala Lumpur and Penang also remain an equally important operations hub for Citi, from where we execute millions of financial transactions worth over US$29 trillion annually for over 50 countries across the globe. There is no immediate change to our operations and no immediate impact to our colleagues as a result of today’s announcement by Citi to pursue an exit from our Consumer Bank business in Malaysia. We will continue to serve our Consumer Banking customers with the same dedication as we do today,” Usman said.

Citi Asia Pacific CEO Peter Babej added that the Asia Pacific region is an integral part of the group's global strategy, and a key driver of its growth and value proposition. “We will continue to invest in our network across the region and deliver Citi’s unique global capabilities to clients across all our markets,” Babej added.