As part of its plan to consolidate the corporate bank with the investment bank, Citi has announced new senior management appointments in Asia-Pacific, effective immediately.
Mark Renton has been appointed global co-head of the public sector group. Renton will continue to be based in Hong Kong and will remain a member of Citi's executive committee in Asia-Pacific. He will report to Alberto Verme who has offices in Dubai and London, and to New York-based Raymond McGuire. Verme and McGuire are co-heads of global banking.
Farhan Faruqui has been appointed head of global banking, Asia-Pacific. He too will report to Verme and McGuire, as well as to Ajay Banga, Citi's CEO for Asia-Pacific.
Global banking integrates Citi's corporate and investment bank in Asia-Pacific including Japan, and will be responsible for the coverage of its largest institutional clients. The job of heading up global investment banking for Asia-Pacific, which Renton shared with Dan McNamara has been eliminated as part of the restructuring of the firm. McNamara will assume a new senior role within global banking, taking overall responsibility for financial institutions and real estate coverage in the region.
Observers note how speedily Faruqui has moved up the ranks at Citi in recent years.
Consider his experience: Faruqui is an 18-year Citi veteran who has held country management and regional product roles in Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Last May he was promoted to corporate and commercial bank head for Asia-Pacific from his role as head of fixed-income capital markets in Asia-Pacific, a move heralded at the time by his peers as getting out of an increasingly quiet market segment just in time. Prior to moving to Hong Kong in 2005, Faruqui was regional corporate banking head for Central Europe and the Citi country officer for the Czech Republic. Faruqui remains a member of Citi's executive committee in Asia Pacific.
"Farhan brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this important leadership role and towards our goal to build a global client-focused, market-leading business," said Verme in the statement announcing the moves.
Some observers commented that moving Faruqui into this role may illustrate the rise of the importance of the corporate banking side of business, especially given the slowdown of investment banking.
Faruqui stressed, however, that this shouldn't be viewed as pitting corporate banking against investment banking; rather it shows the importance Citi attaches to truly implementing the integrated platform it has been launching.
Other Citi insiders say that Faruqui's investment banking background is just as significant as his corporate banking background given he has been working on capital market financing transactions for some of the firm's biggest investment banking clients in Asia. "This move is not emphasising one part of the business or de-emphasising another, it's a global banking role and really it will be what the clients' needs are that will dictate if it's a corporate solution or an investment banking solution -- this structure encourages dialogue across global banking," says a Citi insider.
"The focus will be on making sure we are having the right discussions with our clients to help them navigate these markets," says Faruqui. "It will be a different dialogue across the region -- in one country the focus may be on debt restructuring or liability management, in another the focus could be on assisting companies with their M&A needs. This structure will ensure we always have the right conversations with our clients and present them with the right advice, products and services for their specific needs."
As for Renton's appointment, the market chatter was a bit louder with people questioning whether his new role in the public sector group is a promotion or lateral move. People close Renton say that this background noise was to be expected, as discussions had been going on for some time.
Renton, who has been at Citi for more than 20 years, was formerly head of investment banking in Asia-Pacific. Prior to this role, he was based in New York and headed Citi's energy group in North America, overseeing new business development and client coverage in the energy sector.
"Governments are playing an increasingly influential role across markets and it is an interesting time to make this move," says Renton, adding that the global nature of his new role highlights the growing importance of Asia-Pacific sovereign wealth funds and pension funds in the global economy.
"Our focus on public sector coverage has never been so important as governments around the world seek advice and support for their actions to strengthen the global economy. Mark has excellent client relationships and is a great addition to our management team," Verme said in a release.
Some peers questioned whether locating Renton in Hong Kong is most effective for this role. But with Verme covering Dubai and Europe and both McGuire and Renton's co-partner, Jay Collins, based in New York it could be that Citi has decided Asia is the geography which needs some more firepower. People close to Renton say that this is a job that could be done anywhere and Hong Kong makes sense, particularly given China's rising importance and his experience in the region.
Others questioned whether sovereign wealth funds, many of which may feel they've been burnt with their investments thus far, are going to be willing to invest in these turbulent markets. "The sovereign wealth funds have large portfolios that need to be restructured -- so there will be business," says a Citi colleague.
Finally some question whether Citi, which has been the centre of extensive speculation as a bank that might be nationalised, may take a more US-centric approach in the future. But again, the view from Citi insiders in the region is that Asia represents growth, and therefore a segment of the business Citi simply can't ignore.
