Citibank, the largest foreign lender in India by assets and profits, is exiting the consumer banking business in the country as part of a global strategic review.

The consumer banking business comprises credit cards, retail banking, home loans and wealth management. However, India is not the only country where the lender will say goodbye to retail banking. The lender will exit 12 other nations — China, Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that the banking major is announcing such a big exit. Back in 2014, it had announced its intention to leave consumer franchises in 11 markets that included Japan, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Korea.

Citi on Thursday said the review will allow it to direct investments and resources to the businesses where it has the greatest scale and growth potential. It has now decided to focus its global consumer bank presence in Asia and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) on four wealth centers — Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and London.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said that the decision was taken as the bank did not have enough scale to compete effectively in these markets.

“We believe our capital, investment dollars and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and institutional businesses in Asia,’’ Fraser added.

Citi had entered India in 1902 and started the consumer banking business in 1985. It has 35 branches in the country and employs around 4,000 people in the consumer banking business.

Following the exit from consumer banking, Citi will focus on the institutional business in India where it has a strong presence across various segments.

Citi India is amongst the largest commercial banking units focussed on mid-sized corporates across its global operations. It is also a dominant player in investment banking. Further, it has the maximum number of MNC clients in India within corporate banking. It is also a major player in custodial services. All these businesses will continue in India.

While the exact nature of the exit from India is yet to be ascertained, the key focus will be on its credit card business.