Citigroup CEO denies S.Korea unit sale talk -source

SEOUL (Reuters) - Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit denied the financial group may put its South Korean unit up for sale, a Citibank source told Reuters on Friday, although the U.S. bank is shedding peripheral units.

Media reports in South Korea had said that the largest U.S. bank might sell its wholly owned Citibank Korea business after Citigroup suffered a $9.83 billion fourth-quarter loss tied largely to mortgages.

"Absolutely no," the source quoted Pandit as saying in a meeting with South Korean employees when asked about the possibility of a sale. The source asked not to be identified because Citibank declined to comment.

The U.S. bank bought the former KorAm Bank for $2.7 billion in 2004.

Pandit, on a global tour to meet local employees and banking officials, is reviewing operations throughout the bank in an attempt to cut costs and boost earnings.

On Thursday, the group said it aimed to cut its home loan exposure by $45 billion, reduce risk and save $200 million a year in an overhaul of its U.S. residential mortgage business.

Last month Citigroup sold its Japan headquarters building to rival Morgan Stanley, in a deal reported by Japanese daily Nikkei to be worth $445 million.

Separately, Polish daily Parkiet on February 22 quoted Pandit as saying that it had no plans to sell its Polish unit, Handlowy.

Citibank Korea earned a 456.1 billion won ($476.6 million) net profit in 2007, up 41 percent from a year earlier.