Citigroup, the world's largest financial services group, is believed to be planning to axe up to 10 per cent of its workforce in a bid to stem rising losses.

The bank is expected to make an announcement about the job cuts — which could see as many as 32,000 people made redundant — when it unveils its full year figures on January 15.

Such a move would represent one of the first emergency measures implemented by Vikram Panditt, who was appointed the bank's chief executive last month.

Wall Street rivals expect Citigroup to write down as much as $18.7 billion in the fourth quarter of the year to cover bad investments the bank made in bonds backed by sub-prime mortgages.

The bank is also expected to cut its dividend by 40 per cent to preserve cash as the credit market deteriorates.

Today, Citigroup reiterated a previous statement that: "We have been engaged in a planning process in which our Business Heads are planning ways in which we can be more efficient and cost effective to position our businesses in line with economic realities. Any press reports on specific numbers are not factual."

It is thought that Citigroup is also planning the sale of smaller, non-core assets in order to raise capital to bolster its balance sheet.

Meredith Whitney, the top Wall Street banking analyst at CIBC World Markets, has urged the bank to sell at least $100 billion worth of assets and seek an additional cash injection of $30 billion.

The bank has already been propped up by a $7.5 billion investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which took a 4.9 per cent stake in November.

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