‘We want to be a winner’

Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, said she decided to leave the bank’s retail operations in 13 countries outside the US to improve returns.

One of the top priorities for Fraser, who took over from predecessor Michael Corbat in February, is to bring New York-based Citigroup’s returns closer to peers like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

“When we look at the companies that lie more than a decade ahead, we want to be a winner,” Fraser told CNBC’s Wilfred Frost on “Closing Bell” in her first televised interview since she officially began as CEO.

“We want to close the return gap with our colleagues,” said Fraser. “To do that, you have to honestly estimate which of the companies you will be able to win, and which ones might be in better hands with another bank.”

Last week, Citi said it would leave retail banking in 13 countries outside the US to focus more on asset management, one of Fraser’s first major strategic moves. The lender also reported first-quarter results that exceeded analyst earnings expectations with strong investment banking revenues and a larger-than-expected release of reserves for losses on loans.

There are clear opportunities for Citigroup, the third largest US bank in terms of assets behind JPMorgan and Bank of America, the CEO said.

The bank is “doubling down” in areas such as its global institutional banking and asset management operations in Asia and the US, she said.

And Fraser has not yet finished her strategic assessment that could deliver more business divestitures, she said, “There is definitely more to come” in terms of announcements, she said.