Citigroup mulls sale of German retail bank

Citigroup Inc. suggested Friday that it is considering a sale of its German retail bank.

As part of CEO Vikram Pandit's review of Citi's various businesses around the world, the company is "exploring a variety of options for our retail banking business in Germany, the most profitable in terms of return on equity over the last ten years in this market," the bank said in a statement. "No decisions have been made at this time."

Last week, Pandit said at a conference with investors that the bank _ struggling to return to profitability after getting slammed by losing bets on mortgages _ aims to shed between $400 billion and $500 billion of "non-core" assets over the next three years. Citigroup currently has $2.2 trillion in assets.

A person familiar with Citigroup's decision-making process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly, said Friday that Citi's retail bank in Germany _ Citibank Privatkunden AG & Co. KgaA _ is indeed regarded as a "core" asset of Citigroup. But the person said the business is being seen as a sale opportunity because "banks in Germany and elsewhere" have expressed interest in buying it.

Citigroup shares fell 61 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $23.12 in late afternoon trading.

The company emphasized in its statement that it is not considering selling its corporate and investment banking operations in Germany.