How would you assess Citigroup's position in Asia?
I'm really pleased with the platform we have in Asia. In the front end we're very strong: in investment banking, equity capital markets, debt capital markets and corporate banking. In GTS [global transaction services], we have a huge sales force in Asia covering thousands of corporates. This 1,200 people-strong front end allows us to cover our companies deeply, to establish a long and deep relationship.
Your competitors argue that if Citigroup ever got its act together in terms of cross-product selling, it would be a formidable opponent. How do you react to that?
That criticism might have been valid in the past, but not any more. We weren't anywhere near as integrated before as we are now. We've worked hard to improve internal empowerment, to integrate and to encourage staff to advance the Citigroup agenda with customers. That integration has been the crowning achievement of the past 12 months, and I think clients increasingly look at Citigroup as offering a full range of products.
Citigroup was famous for its geographic fiefdoms – with powerful country coverage officers (CCOs) – that tended to make product-driven marketing difficult.