Citigroup lays bet on emerging markets

International banking major Citigroup expects a majority of its business to come from emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, India-born chief executive Vikram Pandit was quoted in an interview.

''When you look at our business, the biggest growth trend is in our ability and our requirement to serve those emerging-market multinationals in the way we used to serve and continue to serve some of the developed-market multinationals,'' Pandit told the Financial Times. 

Its emerging markets business was doing well despite the slowdown in China, he added. The US-based financial giant was banking on the fact that the growth story in emerging markets is intact, he added. While emerging markets account for about half its business, Pandit expects the share to go up in the future.

Citi's second-quarter profits in Asia alone have topped the global earnings at leading investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 

There have been growing demands in the west to split big banks following the 2008 financial crisis. Former Citi chairman and CEO Sanford Weill had recently echoed these views, noting that big American banks should be broken up to save tax-payer's money.

However, Pandit was opposed to this move. According to him, Citi, which was formed following mergers and acquisitions – including the acquisition of Travelers in 1998 – had already gone back to the basics of banking.