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Citibankers Take With Them Work Ethic And Culture As Blue Neon Goes Dark

It is time to say goodbye to a business that was the darling of the Indian elite.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Citibank hoarding getting removed in&nbsp;Kolkata. Citibank India sold its retail operations to Axis Bank. (Source: Twitter-&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Anirban729">@Anirban729</a>)</p></div>
Citibank hoarding getting removed in Kolkata. Citibank India sold its retail operations to Axis Bank. (Source: Twitter- @Anirban729)

This is a well-known story, so pardon the repetition. Guru Nanak was once said to have visited a village of selfish and rude people. While leaving, he blessed them to flourish on their land. As it happened, he then reached a village full of honest, hard-working, and kind people. This time, Guru Nanak blessed them with ruin on their land. His disciple wanted to know the reason for this apparent contradiction. Guru Nanak said that if the village full of good people did not flourish, they would leave it, and there would be so many good people spreading goodness in the world.

When I think of Citibank shutting down its consumer bank in India, I am reminded of this story. Over the last year, as the sale progressed and many Citi bankers moved out to different organisations, it was very interesting for me to watch how they were quietly and confidently taking with them their work ethics, culture, and often, clients. On the other hand, it was equally interesting to watch the team on the ground continue to work hard and retain the business—its people, processes, and values. As they move to Axis Bank today, it feels like a good time to reminisce.

It could not have been easy to announce the sale of a business, which, at one point in the history of Citi, would have justified its 'Insomniac' tagline. I personally had no idea of the sale when I moved out of Citi in September 2020. In retrospect, the famous Citi process was in place to evaluate ‘all options’. While it may not have been visible to us, like the proverbial fish underwater, an outright sale was as real an option in the face of increasing regulatory and technology costs as any other. Objectively speaking, I can see the merit of the decision, even though I feel bad that with every exit, consumer banking in this country becomes a race to the bottom because of a lack of competition. Way back in my consulting days, I used to joke that India had third-world revenues and first-world regulatory costs. At some stage, I guess it boils down to that trade-off.

So, even as Citi continues with its corporate and small and medium-sized businesses, it is time to say goodbye to a business that was the darling of the Indian elite at one point in time, both as an employer and as a franchise to bank with. When I returned from the US after a sabbatical and started working in the Department of Supervision at the RBI, I was given the additional task of dealing with complaints. Those were the days of CitiFinancial and Citi credit cards. You get the drift. I read letters from sour fathers about their children being spoilt with reckless credit, and from hapless borrowers whose cars were towed away, sometimes with their families in them.

To be fair, Citi was responsible for a lot of the consumer protection guidelines that the RBI wrote. When I left the RBI to join Bank of America, my boss told me that if anyone came and said that we should sell a product because Citi did it, I was supposed to say, “But we are not Citi." It was this aggression and the willingness to take risks, invest in growth, and find opportunities that created the franchise that you could love or hate, but certainly not ignore!

So, after many years of leaving the RBI, when I got the opportunity to join Citi as country business manager for the consumer bank, I approached it with some trepidation. I was totally taken in by the opportunity to replace the age-old backend and middleware and create a truly digital consumer franchise on the back of a solid brand and an already branchless client base. On the other hand, I was warned by the executive search company that Citi was no country for ‘outsiders’ and I would need to cultivate ‘attitude’ if I wanted to be taken seriously. Frankly, it was no more hostile than most bureaucracies, but it was amazingly learning-driven and had outstanding people and processes. I will always be grateful to have headed this very strong business just before it headed out into history and carry with me some exceptional stories of ambition, execution and collaboration. I will carry memories of branch visits and young team members sharing their struggles and triumphs. I will remember leadership shown by leaders at every level when Covid happened, and lessons in process re-engineering to serve clients within all constraints.

In my long career, I have seen foreign banks setting up, exiting, sometimes re-entering, exiting again, growing, shrinking, focusing, and expanding. The nature of life is to find a way, and the nature of finance is to surely find a way! But as the team goes through the transition, as the light under the blue signs goes dark, as the facades turn purple and the lobbies lose their gold, I wish the team and the clients all the very best in their new workplace(s). I also wish the corporate bank the very best.

Shinjini Kumar is a co-founder at SALT. She was the country business manager for Citi's consumer bank in India between June 2017 and December 2020.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of BQ Prime or its editorial team.