Dive Brief:

• Don Plaus, head of North America for Citi’s private bank, is leaving the organization after four months, according to Sunday reports from Barron’s and AdvisorHub, which cited unnamed sources.
• Plaus’ departure is related to personal reasons rather than work-related ones, AdvisorHub reported.
• Ida Liu, the global head of Citi’s private bank, will oversee the North American unit on an interim basis.

Dive Insight:

Plaus’ departure may raise questions around Citi’s ability to grow its wealth business as projected.

On its second-quarter earnings call last month, CEO Jane Fraser said wealth was “starting to improve,” according to Barron’s.

Indeed, the wealth division’s revenue increased 2% year over year, including a 13% jump in non-interest revenue that takes into account higher fees driven by net new client investment assets and market valuations, the bank said.

Expansion in the wealth sphere is crucial toward improving the business mix Citi creates amid a multiyear reorganization Fraser spearheaded last September.

Doubling down on wealth can help Citi make up for exits from retail banking in international markets such as India, China, Russia and Mexico. However, the lender faces a slew of competition in wealth.

Plaus joined Citi in April after 30 years at Merrill Lynch, where he last served as head of private wealth management. When Citi announced his appointment in March, the bank emphasized Plaus’ connections to Merrill’s “largest client relationships.”

And the move reunited him with former colleague Andy Sieg, who left Merrill in March 2023 to become Citi’s head of global wealth. 

Sieg suggested in June that the bank wasn’t done poaching talent to bolster the segment. Sieg has also pulled Keith Glenfield from Merrill; he’s set to join as Citi’s head of investment solutions next month. 

Citi on Tuesday made another hire in wealth, naming Yeo Wenxian as the bank’s new head of wealth for Asia South. She will also become CEO of Citibank Singapore Limited, subject to regulatory approval, according to a company memo shared with Banking Dive. Wenxian will join the bank Nov. 1 and report to Sieg.

Wenxian has spent 13 years at Singapore’s DBS Bank in various roles. Brendan Carney, who has led the unit on an interim basis, will remain in the role until November.

A Citi spokesperson declined to comment Monday on Plaus’ departure.