American behemoth Citigroup, which is axing over 75,000 jobs this year to help cut costs and fight financial crisis, is now slashing the severance package, that too for staff having put 10 or more years with the bank.

Battered banking major Citigroup, which recently received a multi-billion-dollar rescue package from the Federal government, has decided to sell its Japanese trust banking unit.

Virtually blaming the previous management for the mess within Citigroup Inc, its Indian-American chief executive Vikram Pandit said its unchecked exposure to the US realty industry led to the present crisis.

The US government vowed on Monday to safeguard the ailing economy, after stepping in to guarantee over $300 billion in potential losses at Citigroup and pump 20 billion more into the financial giant.

Asserting that its business has been growing strongly even under difficult market conditions recently, Citigroup India on Monday said that government support for its parent in the US further underlines its commitment to the customers in the country.

The US banking behemoth Citigroup has got risky assets worth $306 billion -- a figure equivalent to over half the total assets, nearly six times of market value as well as annual revenue, or about 50-times of full-year net profit of all Indian banks together.

Citigroup will not be able to pay a quarterly dividend higher than one cent per share for the next three years without an approval from the government as part of the rescue pact for the crisis-ridden banking major.

The US government announced on Monday a new $20 billion lifeline for banking giant Citigroup ahead of the unveiling of president-elect Barack Obama's economic team.

The US government has decided to extend a fresh lifeline to crisis-ridden Citigroup with a $40 billion capital infusion, while standing guarantee to $306 billion worth assets of the financial behemoth.

With the stocks of Citigroup dipping a record 26 percent in a single day Thursday, its top executives are now look at various options including auctioning off its various wings or even outright sale of the company, the Wall Street Journal said Friday.

Allaying fears of possible job cuts, global financial services giant Citigroup assured on Tuesday that about 52,000 layoffs over the world will have a 'limited' impact on India.

Asian shares fell sharply on Tuesday amid mounting fears of a long global recession after US banking giant Citigroup announced over 50,000 job cuts and carmakers on both sides of the Atlantic pleaded for help.

Vikram Pandit-led financial services giant Citigroup on Monday said it will cut more than 52,000 jobs in the coming months and reduce expenses by 20 percent in 2009.

Citigroup has said that it was ending court efforts to block a merger of banking rivals Wachovia and Wells Fargo, but vowed to press its claim for breach of contract damages.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo have agreed to extend their legal standstill in the fight for Wachovia until Friday morning.

A joint statement from the three banks came as the fate of Wachovia was in limbo following its deal to be acquired by Wells Fargo and a Citigroup lawsuit seeking $60 billion from the two firms.

A US appeals court has struck down an earlier injunction order on a proposed merger between banks Wells Fargo & Co and Wachovia, Wells Fargo announced in a statement late on Sunday.

Californian bank Wells Fargo announced a $15.1 billion deal to buy troubled US rival Wachovia in an attempt to outflank Citigroup and its government-backed rescue plan.

In the latest byproduct of the widening global financial crisis, Citigroup Inc will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia Corp in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.