NEW YORK - Citigroup's new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, plans to stick with a global banking model after months of intense review -- but only after shrinking the company by about one-fifth first.

The three-year game plan, revealed Friday, includes getting rid of more businesses, mortgages, real-estate operations and jobs.

The bank aims to shed $400 billion to $500 billion of $2.2 trillion in assets and increase revenue by 9 percent during the next few years as it tries to rebound from losses tied to deterioration in the credit markets.

The $500 billion in "legacy assets" that the bank intends to sell or allow to mature include yet-to-be-named noncore businesses, as well as assets in Citigroup's securities and consumer banking segments. That includes mortgages and other real estate-related holdings.

Meanwhile, the anticipated rise in revenue will derive largely from cutting costs -- which Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said will mean more job reductions. Citi has lowered its head count by 13,200 since the summer of 2007.

The moves could mean the bank loses its standing as the nation's largest if its other assets don't grow simultaneously.

According to their most recent regulatory filings, Bank of America has $1.74 trillion in assets, and JPMorgan Chase has $1.64 trillion.

The investor presentation Friday was not unexpected. Citigroup had begun its winding-down process by writing down about $38 billion in soured debt since last summer and setting plans to reduce its residential mortgage assets by $45 billion over the coming year. It also sold businesses including CitiCapital, CitiStreet and Diners Club.

These moves arrived on top of stock sales to outside investors, including government funds in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Roger Lister of bond rating company DBRS said Citi should be able to find buyers for its assets. Most are not particularly risky, he said, but are simply low revenue generators for the bank. "The plan makes sense; in some ways, it's the easy part," he said.

Some doubt such a sale would be easy.

"I'm not sure they have half a trillion in good assets that someone wants to buy. But they're doing the obvious -- they have no choice," said R. Christopher Whalen, managing director of consulting firm Institutional Risk Analytics.

Either way, whether Pandit's plan proves successful will determine his legacy as a turnaround specialist for a company that many claim was struggling long before the housing market collapse.

Citigroup shares lost 55 cents to $23.75. The stock is down about 18 percent in 2008 and 55 percent over 12 months.

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