[Elsha]

Citigroup Inc. C isn't planning to sell its Polish unit, Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA , and is pleased with how it has performed in recent years, Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit was quoted as saying in Polish daily Rzeczpospolita Thursday.

"I'll say it clearly--we aren't planning a sale of Citi Handlowy, we aren't even thinking about it," Pandit is quoted as saying. "Because to us, its main shareholder, it's an important and profitable company."

Many of Poland's largest banks have strategic shareholder banks from western Europe or the U.S., and some have either sold or considered selling these Polish subsidiaries to meet stringent capital requirements at home.

Pandit added that he had been expecting the Rzeczpospolita reporter to ask him whether Handlowy was planning to acquire any other banks.