Citi has appointed Viswas Raghavan as head of banking and executive vice chair, CEO Jane Fraser said in a memo Monday.
Raghavan will oversee Citi’s investment, corporate and commercial banking businesses, which is one of the company’s core units. He is expected to join this summer and will report directly to Fraser, the bank said.
Raghavan’s arrival also gives Citi a permanent figurehead for a unit that Peter Babej, previously Citi’s Asia-Pacific CEO, had been leading on an interim basis. Babej is expected to retire this year.
“Vis is a proven leader, and his appointment is another example of our ability to attract the best talent to our firm,” Fraser said in the memo. “He is a strategic leader who brings a strong track record of delivering results across a global banking business.”
Raghavan’s hire comes less than a year after Citi pulled off another major coup — hiring Andy Sieg away from Bank of America to serve as Citi’s head of global wealth.
Raghavan’s appointment sparked a wave of changes in JPMorgan, as he is set to leave the firm just weeks after being promoted to lead its global investment banking franchise. JPMorgan has promoted Doug Petno and Filippo Gori to become co-heads of a new global banking arm that includes the bank’s commercial, corporate and investment banking franchises. Gori replaces Raghavan as CEO of JPMorgan’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business.
Raghavan served as JPMorgan’s EMEA CEO since 2017. He joined the bank in 2000 and has taken on senior capital markets roles during his career at the bank, according to a memo.
Raghavan’s experience in banking and as EMEA chief “makes him the perfect partner to lead the Cluster and Banking Heads across our global network,” along with Ernesto Torres Cantú, head of international, Fraser noted. As chief of the banking unit, Raghavan will also work closely with David Livingstone and the vice chairs in the client organization to help deliver a steady and disciplined strategy, she added.
Citi has been searching for a banking chief since announcing its reorganization in September, aimed at simplifying operations and eliminating overlap. Citi has been selling or winding down overseas retail businesses since 2021, and plans to reduce its headcount by 20,000 in the next two years. The bank said it expects to incur as much as $1 billion in severance and restructuring costs this year as part of the cuts.
