Citigroup will be opening flagship bank branches in largest Western European cities next year to re-focus its retail offer on affluent "global citizens," as reported by the Financial Times.

Citi’s operations in the UK, Spain, Greece and Belgium are closing down under terms of the U.S. government bail-out and therefore, the bank is seeking to slim down and target major cities in France, Britain and Germany, the FT said.

"Further down the road, we will open up in key cities in Western Europe," the FT quoted one person familiar with the plan as saying, "2011 is a potential turning point."

The bank would focus its network on about 100 cities around the world, including 10 to 15 in Western Europe, targeting wealthy customers who travel frequently by opening big, flagship outlets modeled on the Apple stores, the paper said.

In Poland, where Citigroup has 200 branches spread across the country, the bank would refocus on Warsaw and a couple of smaller cities.