Financial services major Citigroup has abandoned planned $4.5 million renovation of its headquarter in Brazil, says a media report.
The New York company which cancelled a planned $4.5 million renovation of its main office in Brazil, included an area for entertaining clients and a landscaped terrace called a "suspended garden," The Wall Street Journal said.
Attributing to people familiar with the matter, the daily said that Citi had hired corporate-architectural firm Athie Wohnrath Associados to overhaul three floors of its headquarters in Sao Paulo and was set to begin the renovations soon.
The job was supposed to be completed by early 2010, including a 1,000-square-foot office with a panoramic view for Citigroup's top executive in Brazil.
On Tuesday afternoon, the report said citing person familiar with the plan that the renovation had been reviewed by senior executives, who decided to shelve the project.
The report noted that reversal underscores the sensitivity inside Citigroup about its spending habits, since the bank has received $45 billion from the US government, a 34 per cent owner of the company's common stock.
According to the publication, price tag for renovation was equal to less than 1 per cent of the Brazilian's unit's annual revenue. The operation is one of Citigroup's fastest-growing businesses.