Citibank has announced 11,000 job cuts worldwide as it seeks almost $1 billion of new savings next year - but the Middle East will largely escape the knife, the bank says.
The US banking giant announced massive layoffs on Wednesday as it attempts to cut costs and refocus on emerging markets including the UAE, where the bank plans to open an office in Abu Dhabi.
The job losses are hoped to reap $900 million (Dh3.3 billion) of savings next year and additional savings of more than $1.1bn annually from 2014 onwards, said Michael Corbat, Citi's recently installed chief executive.
"These actions are logical next steps in Citi's transformation," he said. "And we will further increase our operating efficiency by reducing excess capacity and expenses, whether they centre on technology, real estate or simplifying our operations."
Mr Corbat's move reverses a hiring drive begun by the former chief executive Vikram Pandit, who was unexpectedly ousted in October.
Citi said it expected to scale back or sell consumer operations in Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Turkey and Uruguay.
The bank sold its consumer lending portfolio to Pakistan's Habib Bank last month, and is winding down its branches in the country.
"Consistent with Citi's strategy of focusing on the 150 cities that have the highest growth potential in consumer banking, Citi will optimise its branch footprint and further concentrate its presence in major metropolitan areas," the bank added.
The lender is currently planning for a new branch in Abu Dhabi, taking its total in the Emirates to six.
Citibank hired 52 staff last year in Bahrain, said Mazin Manna, the chief executive of Citibank Bahrain in May - at a time when international banks were fleeing the country and Citi was cutting thousands of jobs at a global level.
American banks have been increasingly aggressive in targeting the Arabian Gulf as European lenders withdraw, with JPMorgan also investing in the region.
US lenders' aspirations in the Gulf have been curtailed since the subprime meltdown of 2007 and the ensuing global financial crisis, which hammered balance sheets and led to regulatory drives such as Dodd-Frank, limiting the ability of the lenders to grow their business.
In the meantime, Asian lenders such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have attempted to capitalise on the weakness of European rivals that are retreating.
US banks have recently sought to delay implementation of the Basel III banking reforms so they have time to comply with the new guidelines, much to the chagrin of European rivals struggling to meet them against the background of the continent's sovereign debt crisis.
ghunter@thenational.ae
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
