But 'now it's the turn for the foreign consumer to rise,' he said as cited by the Journal, and American businesses can help with the US recovery through exports to overseas consumers.

Pandit also dismissed suggestions that competitors speaking ill of Citi's bailout from Washington are affecting the business. 'I've usually found that you don't win business by talking down somebody,' he said.

There are points in time, Pandit said, when companies in one part of the world need loans and liquidity available from elsewhere in the world. 'That's the business that we're in,' he was quoted as saying by the Journal.

However, he added that the safety and soundness of its local businesses was critical and Citigroup worked closely with regulators everywhere it operates.