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Citigroup will on Friday identify as much as $400bn in non-core assets that could be sold as part of plans to reduce costs and restore profit growth. At a scheduled meeting with Wall Street analysts, Vikram Pandit, Citi’s chief executive, plans to confirm his pledge to cut Citi’s cost base of over $60bn by about 20%. But he will also use the meeting to rebuff calls for a break-up of the group, and to defend Citi’s “universal banking model” combining consumer and wholesale banking, say people familiar with his thinking. Analysts have speculated that Citi could sell its retail banking operations in Germany and Brazil, as well as some businesses and equity stakes in Asia.