Citigroup to double Chinese outlets in three years

Citigroup (C.NYSE) is seeking to double the number of its retail outlets in China, bringing the total up to 100 within the next three years, in efforts to provide more retail banking services in the world’s second-largest economy, Reuters reported. “We’ve doubled in the last three years. We’d like to double again in the next three years, but the pace of growth is largely dictated by the speed at which we can get new branches approved by the regulators,” said Jonathan Larsen, the global head of retail banking. With foreign banks’ assets accounting for approximately 2% of total banking assets in China, Citi has struggled to expand operations amid tight regulatory controls. Even so, Citi was the first non-Asian bank to be approved to issue credit cards in China, the bank said.