Citi’s decision to create a single wealth-management platform in early 2021, Citi Global Wealth (CGW), is bearing fruit.
The new model was a tacit admission that the old one needed more than a tweak. Under the aegis of CGW, the US bank created a single wealth-management platform, pooling its institutional clients and global consumer banking groups.
Citi’s decision came at an important time for the US's global lender. Jane Fraser was named chief executive in February 2021, with a remit to make the bank more profitable and generate higher returns – in short, more like its chief US rivals, JPMorgan and Bank of America.
Fraser, a former CEO of global private banking, moved fast to create CGW and install Jim O’Donnell to run a unit that now boasts half a million clients and oversees $800 billion in client assets.
It was announced in January 2023 that O’Donnell will step away from his position to become a vice-chairman of the bank and head of senior client engagement.
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