Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. may close more than a fifth of the 450 branches of its Indian consumer finance unit to cut costs after incurring losses tied to the U.S. subprime credit crisis, the Business Standard reported, without saying where it got the information.

CitiFinancial Consumer Finance India Ltd. may close as many as 100 of its branches, the newspaper said. Citigroup also plans to move as many as 30 of its automated teller machines in the South Asian nation to less expensive locations, the report said, without giving details.

The newspaper cited a Citigroup official in India as saying the company is relocating consumer finance branches and teller machines to serve its customers better. The official didn't confirm any plan to close branches, the report said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anil Varma in Mumbai at avarma3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 28, 2008 20:48 EST