'In Singapore, there will be modest headcount reductions,' said Citi Singapore's corporate affairs director, Mr Adam Rahman. Citi provides employment to over 9,000 people in Singapore.

Mr Rahman was responding to queries from The Straits Times on Tuesday, on the back of the news of massive job cuts announced by Citigroup on Monday.

According to Mr Rahman, Citi's business interests in Singapore remain profitable and should not be significantly affected by the planned job cuts.

He said: 'Citi continues to invest in growth in key markets such as Singapore. Our business in Singapore continues to register robust year-on- year growth and remains a regional centre for management and operations for Citi globally. We expect our headcount in Singapore to remain relatively stable overall.'

However, he also referred to looming but possibly permanent changes in the banking industry.

'In line with Citi's global efforts to increase efficiency and productivity in the current difficult market conditions, some jobs will change and others will no longer be necessary,' he added.

When asked if there was any truth in Tuesday's Reuters report of a possible chopping of 300 jobs from its Singapore operations, Citi declined to respond in line with its policy of not commenting on market speculation.

Citigroup, one of the few American banking behemoths left standing on Wall Street, said it will cut 52,000 jobs from early next year.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.