CitiGroup trimming the fat

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup Inc. said Friday it planned to unload $400 billion in assets over the few years as the beleaguered banking icon aims to reinvigorate itself.

The announcement, which was made during a widely anticipated company investor and analyst conference, comes after months of review of Citi's different businesses by CEO Vikram Pandit.

Divisions that had not been producing acceptable returns or fit Citigroup's core business model would be sold or allowed to run their course, said Pandit.

"It's all about getting fit," he said.

Citigroup identified roughly $500 billion in non-core assets - 22% of the company. The company said it would wind down those assets to less than $100 billion over the next two to three years.

While the move would affect close to 20% of the firm's assets, Pandit affirmed that he remained committed to the company's universal bank model, despite calls by critics to break up the firm.

"We believe the right model is a global universal bank," said Pandit. "This is the model that delivers the most shareholder value."

Since Pandit's ascension to the CEO post in December, management has attempted to whip into shape what some critics have called the company's bloated corporate structure.

Just this week, Citi and State Street Corp. announced plans to sell CitiStreet, a joint venture by the two firms, for $900 million. Last month, Citi announced the sale of its commercial lending and leasing business to General Electric and plans to get rid of Diners Club International.

The company added that it was aiming for 9% revenue growth going forward, after suffering through what have arguably been one of the toughest periods in the firm's 196-year-history.

Citi capped a particularly tough 2007 by posting a $10 billion fourth-quarter loss - the worst ever in its storied history. Citi followed that up last month by recording another staggering loss, this time worth $5.1 billion.

Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) stock, which is worth less than half of what it was just a year ago, rose 1.2% in early trading on Friday.