Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of US banking giant Citigroup, said Wednesday it spent a total of 1.2 trillion won ($991 billion) on its voluntary retirement programs last year.

Early-retiring employees were paid in advance the salaries that they would have earned until the legal retirement day, with an upper limit of 700 million won, the bank said.

According to its regulatory filing, the bank registered a net loss of 796 billion won in 2021, compared with a net profit of 187.8 billion won in 2020.

The statement came five months after Citibank Korea said it would close its retail banking services “in phases” after more than three decades.

Citigroup opened its first branch in South Korea in 1967 and launched Citibank Korea in 2004 after acquiring KorAm Bank.

Citibank Korea employs around 3,300 people, of which some 2,400 are working at more than 30 branches involving consumer banking services, according to the bank. (Yonhap)