Citigroup Inc. may close some of its existing branches as plans to focus on 6 major metropolitan areas.

Sources familiar with the plan said that bank executive are working on the plan and may hand the details over to the board next month.

Citigroup Inc., one of the biggest recipients of government bailout funds, would narrow its North American retail focus to area where it has higher branch concentrations.

A Citigroup executive said on the condition of anonymity, “At the end of the day, we are not going to have the density of distribution that others have.”  

Citigroup may continue operating in areas considerable presence such as New York, Miami, Washington, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The lender could shut its branches in Texas, Boston and Philadelphia.

It may be noted here that government has recently converted $25 billion of the bailout funds into a 34 per cent stake in the Citigroup.

Citigroup owns 1,001 branches out of which 75 per cent are outside the U.S.

Shares in Citigroup dropped 2.8 per cent to close at $4.52 in the regular trading session on Wednesday.