Citigroup has lost more than $500 million (€365 million) in credit business in recent weeks, making it one of the biggest casualties of the subprime crisis, according to a person briefed on the situation.

The losses are not a serious problem for a company that earned more than $20 billion last year and bankers believe some Wall Street rivals have lost more.

But it will be embarrassing for chairman Chuck Prince who has been widely criticised for saying last month that Citi was "still dancing" in the credit markets.

The losses will undermine his efforts to restore investor confidence in the world's largest financial services company. - (Financial Times service)