Citibank opened its latest branch in Center City at 1211 Walnut St., its first this year in the Philadelphia region where it has 13 branches.
But a story in this morning's Wall Street Journal indicates parent company Citigroup Inc. is "abandoning a push to open as many as 100 branches a year in the U.S."
Why? The new top management isn't convinced Citibank can leapfrog competitors who have dominant shares in various markets. Philadelphia, the Journal says, could be one of the markets where Citibank retreats. Market leader Wachovia has 207 branches in Philadelphia area, while Bank of America has 117 branches.
Journal reporter David Enrich writes that Citigroup executives are:
... pleased with with Boston branches, but are less impressed with the Philadelphia experiment, according to one person familiar with the situation.
The news release from this morning's branch opening in Philadelphia quotes William E. Brown, Citibank's market leader here, as saying:
Philadelphia is a priority market for Citi and we are committed to expanding our presence here.
A call is in to a Citibank spokesman.
