Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser is weighing a plan to break up the company’s biggest unit in a restructuring which would give her more power, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street firm is weighing a split of the Institutional Clients Group, which made nearly three-quarters of the bank’s profit last year — into three segments including investment and corporate banking, global markets and transaction services, according to the FT.
The heads of the newly created divisions would then report directly to Fraser. If adopted, it would mark the biggest overhaul in nearly 15 years. A spokesperson for Citigroup in Hong Kong declined to comment on the report.
It comes after the bank said earlier in August that Paco Ybarra, one of Fraser’s top deputies, will leave after 36 years at the bank.
She didn’t name a successor for Ybarra, nor did she mention a search to replace him. She instead said that Citigroup will use the coming months to determine how to transition his responsibilities in a way that lines up with the firm’s work to simplify its organizational structure.