Citibank’s retail arm scraps EMEA marketing division

Citibank, the American banking giant, is scrapping the European, Middle East and Africa marketing headquarters of its retail arm.

It is not known whether team members, who are based in London, will be offered other roles. A company spokesman has confirmed the restructure is taking place and says the marketing operation is being “decentralised”, to be handled instead in each of the region’s 27 countries.

The move does not affect parent company Citigroup’s UK marketing team, which operates separately to the retail EMEA division.

Citigroup is the world’s largest financial services firm, which offers retail and corporate banking through the Citibank arm.

It also provides asset management, insurance and investment banking services, although it has only a small consumer presence in the UK. Its best-known brand in the UK is Diners Club, the credit card business it bought from Italian fashion and luxury goods retailer GPT Holdings in 2003.

It is not thought that the move will immediately affect Fallon, Harrison Troughton Wunderman, and Mediaedge:CIA’s hold on the UK creative, direct marketing and media planning and buying accounts respectively.