Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, banned off-site meetings among investment- banking employees and cut back on color photocopying to reduce expenses as revenue declines.

Executives in the New York-based bank's trading and investment-banking unit will need to ensure spending is ``highly efficient,'' according to an internal memorandum confirmed by a Citigroup spokesman in London today.

Citigroup is clamping down on spending after cutting about 14,000 jobs in the first half of 2008 and reporting $55 billion of writedowns and credit losses in the past year, more than any other bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue at the company's corporate and investment bank plunged 71 percent in the second quarter on losses for subprime-related assets.

``They are cyclical businesses that do get a bit fat in the good days,'' said Antony Gifford, who oversees about $4 billion in North American equities at Henderson Global Investors in London. ``It's not material, but a worthwhile exercise for a company the size of Citigroup.''

Under the new policy, employee meetings must be held within Citigroup offices and client events will require approval, the memo said. Color photocopiers will be removed from some locations and their use will be limited to client presentations. The memo didn't say how much money the new rules will save.

``We have spent considerable time looking at our headcount and related expense, and while we have made progress in that area, we still have more work to do,'' the memo said. Citigroup employs about 363,000 people globally.

Share Comparison

Citigroup has declined 39 percent this year on the New York Stock Exchange, compared with 30 percent at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. and 16 percent at JPMorgan Chase & Co., based in New York. Citigroup rose 23 cents to $17.84 in composite trading 4:13 p.m.

Financial firms globally have eliminated 101,250 jobs since the beginning of the credit crunch last year.

Merrill Lynch & Co., struggling to halt a four-quarter streak of $19 billion in losses, imposed a freeze on new hires this month and restricted the use of private jets, the Financial Times reported in July.

Deutsche Bank AG requires dealmakers to get their managers' approval for taxi trips in advance, and business meals can't exceed 50 pounds ($92) per person, the Independent newspaper reported in April.

Citigroup is also scaling back external training, which will be limited to that which is ``strictly necessary,'' the memo said. Purchases of computer hardware and software must also be pre-approved under the new rules, as must all non-client travel, the bank said. The U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported the contents of the memo earlier today.

``We will be conducting a review of our Blackberry usage,'' Citigroup said. ``In the interim, all new Blackberries will require pre-approval.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Joyce Moullakis in London at jmoullakis@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 26, 2008 16:14 EDT