Citi has named Ashish Bajaj as head of its commercial bank in Asia Pacific, according to a person familiar with the matter.
He will report to Jonathan Larsen, Citi’s head of Asia-Pacific consumer banking in the region as well as its global head of retail banking. Bajaj will also report to Sunil Garg, global head of Citi’s commercial bank.
Citi’s commercial banking business services small and medium-sized companies with cash management, foreign exchange, lending, trade and employee banking products. It sits within Citi’s consumer business.
Commercial banking is a growing business for Citi as it looks to broaden its relationships with the region’s multitude of fast-growing smaller Asian companies. The potential revenue pool is similar in size to the consumer revenue pool in Asia.
Bajaj replaces Gaurang Hattangdi, who has taken on the role of global head of product development for commercial banking. In this new role, Hattangdi will work on developing supply chain and other global product solutions.
Bajaj is a Citi veteran of 26 years and is currently the regional head of relationship management for financial institutions in Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
Prior to that, he led Citi’s transaction services business in South Asia for seven years and was based in Mumbai. He has also been head of Citi’s commercial bank for South Asia, global payments head for cash management services in New York and was part of the emerging markets task force based in London.
Bajaj holds an MBA in finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and a degree in mathematics from Bombay University.
