Citigroup, the No. 1 U.S. bank by assets, is planning major job cuts over the coming months, CNBC television reported on Monday.

CNBC said that no exact number had yet been set, though some jobs were already being eliminated. It estimated that the cuts could total anywhere between 17,000 and 45,000.

Mike Hanretta, a spokesman for Citi, declined to comment.

Any layoffs would come as Citi wrestles with asset writedowns and looks for a new chief executive officer. Former CEO Charles Prince resigned on Nov. 4, the same day Citi said it may write off this quarter $11 billion of assets linked to subprime mortgages.

Citi said in April that it would eliminate 17,000 jobs as part of a broad restructuring designed to cut costs, which at the time was about 5 percent of its work force.

(Reporting by Christian Plumb, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Citigroup