Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said the current turmoil in the global financial markets will not be a repeat of the 2008 downturn, Singapore newspapers reported Friday.

Pandit told local media in an interview on the sideline of the bank's board meeting in the city-state that there is enough capital and liquidity in the global banking system to withstand the market volatility.

The world's banking system is in a very different place than it was in 2008, he told the Straits Times.

Capital levels are high in the Asian banking system, they are well-positioned, there's a lot of liquidity...if you go to the Latin American banking system, that's the case as well.

Citi, the most international among U.S. banks, was on the brink of collapse during the financial crisis three years ago.

Pandit also said in an interview he is confident that the European Union will find ways to solve the current crisis in the euro zone.

I'm fully confident that the Europeans will figure it out ... as that happens I don't think we need to worry about a financial crisis, the Business Times quoted him as saying.

European union Citigroup Vikram pandit Citigroup