Now, hear us out. A year ago, we were griping about Citi’s decision to sell consumer businesses in a clutch of Asian markets. The only way it made sense, we argued, was if Citi put its money where its mouth is: deployed the freed capital into its wealth and institutional businesses in Asia and doubled down on that with tangible action, rather than the proceeds just drifting into some vague balance-sheet objective.
Here’s the thing: Citi delivered. With the strategy set, it achieved clean and lucrative exits from every Asian market it wished to depart, it poured assets and personnel into a reshaped wealth business and it delivered a record year in key institutional segments including investment banking and in treasury.
“The last couple of years have been defining for Citi Asia,” says Peter Babej, Asia-Pacific chief executive. “Our strategic initiatives, including the win-in-wealth campaign and the consumer divestitures that Jane [Fraser, Citi CEO] announced in early 2021, have progressed exceptionally well.”
Let’s