Citigroup Inc. will halve the minimum balance on checking accounts with the highest level of service, in a push to get more customers to use the bank for their primary accounts.

Clients with Citigold accounts can avoid monthly fees if they keep $50,000 in combined balances at Citigroup starting Nov. 1, the New York-based bank said in an e-mailed statement. Citigroup also plans to eliminate fees for some account holders at the basic account level. A formal announcement of the new policies may come as early as today.

The changes may help Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit stem a slide in North American consumer banking. Citigroup has slipped to fourth place by deposits in the U.S. after losing a 2008 takeover battle for Wachovia Corp. to Wells Fargo & Co., and the unit�s first-half profit fell by 83 percent. Pandit, 53, shook up management in January, installing Manuel Medina-Mora to take over from Teresa �Terri� Dial.

�If we offer a much better service than what our customers are getting today, they are going to bring more of their business to us,� Citigroup�s U.S. retail-banking head, Brad Dinsmore, said in an interview. �By lowering the threshold to $50,000, it will allow us to offer Citigold to more customers.�

Citigold accounts were developed at predecessor Citicorp in the 1980s under then-CEO John Reed to attract affluent savers. They come with a dedicated hotline, free checks, theater promotions and fee waivers on wire transfers. Until now, the minimum balance to avoid a monthly $25 fee for Citigold service was $100,000.

(Read More: Bloomberg)