Citi has appointed Gonzalo Luchetti as head of its retail bank in Asia with immediate effect, according to an internal memo seen by FinanceAsia.
Luchetti will relocate from New York to Hong Kong and continue as global head of wealth management and insurance at the consumer bank.
He replaces Roy Gori, who left Citi in December to become Manulife Asia’s chief executive. Luchetti will report to Jonathan Larsen, Hong Kong-based head of global retail banking.
The relocation of Luchetti, and his global head role, to Hong Kong reflects the increasing affluence of the Asian consumer and the heightened interest in the region among global investment banks.
Citi’s consumer business has a particular Asian focus, with 12 out of the bank’s 24 consumer markets located in the region.
The bank’s consumer business generated $6.7 billion in revenues in the region in the first three quarters of 2014; $3.5 billion of that coming from retail and $2.2 billion credit cards.
Citi is the largest credit card issuer in Asia with more than 16 million cards and has more than 33 million retail accounts and $250 billion in client assets.
Luchetti will be responsible for retail products and sales & distribution in the region on top of his existing global role, according to the memo.
Before taking up his global role, Luchetti was responsible for IPB Latin America, leading Citigold Private Client, Citigold International, International Personal Banking, Global Executive Banking and CitiBusiness.
Prior to joining Citi, Luchetti worked for JP Morgan Chase in business development for the international financial services division and, before this, he worked at Bain & Company (management consulting) as a case team leader.
Luchetti holds a MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires.
A Citi spokesman confirmed the accuracy of the memo.
